Blame game: Maritime disasters are not PAGASA’s fault
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:30:00 08/05/2008
Nearly a century ago, the ocean liner Titanic, on its maiden voyage, struck an iceberg and sank.
In December 1987, the inter-island ferry MV Doña Paz collided with an oil tanker in Tablas Strait. The accident is until today the world’s worst peacetime sea disaster. Thousands of passengers, including the chief of the weather station of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in Catbalogan City, died.
Now, the ghost of the past has come back with the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars at the height of Typhoon “Frank.” After the skies cleared, the head of PAGASA was taken to task for the sea mishap.
The MV Princess of the Stars disaster was not the fault of PAGASA. It was caused by grave indiscretion and reckless imprudence on the part of the ship officials. Records show that the national weather service was not remiss in its duty to issue warnings, although no warnings are “perfect.” The captain of the ship had received forecasts before and during the voyage of the ill-fated ferry.
History repeats itself for Sulpicio Lines Inc., except that its owners and officials refuse to learn the lessons of the past. Other ships of this company also suffered the same fate: MV Doña Marilyn sank off Leyte province during Typhoon “Unsang” in October 1988; and MV Princess of the Orient, off Batangas province during Typhoon “Gading” in September 1998. The most honorable thing for Sulpicio Lines to do is to immediately indemnify the victims’ families, and to issue a public apology for the injustice it caused the weather bureau.
It’s ironic that PAGASA is getting the brunt of blame for the devastation left by “Frank” here. But weather bureaus have grown accustomed to constant public bashing. Following “Frank,” Typhoon “Helen” skirted the country and lashed neighboring Taiwan. That country’s new president took its central weather bureau to task for failing to issue adequate warnings. Even the world meteorological governing body has not been spared and has been accused of non-action on the issue of climate change.
Human actions have been pointed to as the main cause of global warming. When the planet ultimately reaches its point of no return, who will men blame?
HANNIBAL B. MARAYAG, 5 Cadena de Amor St., Roxas District, Quezon City
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