Owner, crew of ferry charged with murder

ORMOC CITY – The Philippine National Police (PNP) and six survivors have filed criminal charges against the owner, captain and crew of the ferry M/B Kim Nirvana-B, which capsized off the coast of Ormoc City last Thursday.

Police regional director for Eastern Visayas Chief Supt. Asher Dolina said yesterday the murder charges were filed late on Friday in Ormoc over the sinking of the ferry.

This is on top of the multiple murder charges filed by three survivors and complaints of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and physical injuries filed by three other survivors on Friday night.

A total of 19 people were charged, including ferry owner Joge Bung Zarco, captain Warren Oliverio and 17 crew members. They are currently detained at Police Station One in Ormoc and being probed by the Special Investigation Tactical Group.

Under Philippine law, murder is punishable by up to 40 years imprisonment.

“We filed the charges as soon as we could because we don’t want the suspects to leave the country,” Dolina said.

Initial police investigation and interviews with survivors showed the vessel abruptly turned in waters off the central port of Ormoc, causing it to capsize.

“They were not careful, showing there was an intent to kill. They were reckless on purpose,” Dolina said.

The police investigation is separate from the inquiry of

the Philippine Coast Guard, which will primarily determine the cause of the mishap. The PCG may also recommend criminal and administrative charges.

Americans Larry Drake and Nuttal Chip and Alfred Primerano filed multiple murder charges, while Randy Salinas, May Sopa and Jennifer Pañares filed complaints of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and physical injuries.

Salinas, Sopa and Pañares also attested that they were not given life vests.

Sopa and Pañares said they filed the complaint because they feel that it is their moral obligation, so that the same tragedy will not befall others.

Salinas, on the other hand, said he and his family were onboard, but his father, a boat captain on vacation, died in the sinking of the ferry.

Death toll soars; ferry

overloaded

The PCG earlier said the ferry could carry 194 people, including 178 passengers and 16 crew.

But as of yesterday afternoon, the death toll stood at 59 with 142 survivors, according to the Office of Civil Defense-Visayas.

“This means there were a total of 201 people on the ferry,” Ormoc City disaster official Ciriaco Tolibao said.

PCG deputy commandant Rear Admiral William Melda said there is also a report that Zarco and three crewmembers of his other ferry were onboard

M/B Kim Nirvana-B, but they were not listed in the passenger manifest.

PCG spokesman Cmdr. Armand Balilo said the PCG will get hold of a copy of the authorized manning certificate from the Maritime Industry Authority that will show the number of authorized crewmembers of the ferry. “If they had more than the allowed number of crewmembers, then that will be another violation.”

Overloading of cargo and passengers might have been to blame for the disaster, according to Ormoc City councilor Godiardo Ebcas, who helped oversee rescue operations.

Passengers on the ferry’s route from Ormoc to the Camotes islands regularly bring supplies from the city to their remote fishing villages.

Survivors reported seeing 150 sacks of cement and more sacks of rice and fertilizer in the ship’s cargo area.

“The ship might not be too overloaded in terms of passengers, but imagine the weight of its cargo,” Ebcas said.

Ebcas noted that each sack of rice, cement and fertilizer weighs 50 kilos, and 150 sacks would easily add 7,500 kilos to the ship’s load, excluding passengers.

Ebcas said survivors also saw that the cargo, located on the ship’s lowest level, was not fastened to the floor with ropes as it should have been. “This could have cause the weight of the ship to shift.”

PCG Eastern Visayas district commander Capt. Pedro Tinampay said yesterday that the agency is not denying that the ferry was overloaded with passengers, considering the latest death toll. But the allegations of cargo overload are still subject to investigation.

The clearing officers are now under restriction at the PCG Eastern Visayas district office for investigation, Tinampay added.

Bloated bodies

Search operations with rescue divers were halted on Friday before the ship was lifted to port’s berthing area.

Ebcas said bloated bodies spilled out of the Kim Nirvana’s wooden hull as a crane lifted it from the water and placed it on Ormoc port.

He also confirmed reports that some bodies were washed to the shore of a neighboring municipality.

‘Don’t be quick in absolving PCG’

Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on Friday cleared the PCG of negligence, saying the PCG was not remiss in its job in the country’s latest sea tragedy.

But lawmakers said yesterday DOTC officials should not be too quick in absolving the PCG.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, leader of the independent bloc in the House of Representatives, said while the PCG has always been a professional organization, a proper investigation into the tragedy means that the involvement everyone concerned must be looked into.

“Prudence dictates that all angles must be looked into in any investigation. While responsibilities vary, there are many factors that could have led to the tragedies, maybe even some lapses or laxity of government regulators,” Romualdez said.

Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian also called on the PCG to strictly enforce regulations involving passenger and cargo vessels and tighten their inspection and seaworthiness evaluation of maritime vessels.

“The PCG should be strict and impartial in implementing the no over loading rule. The vessels should also be made of sturdy materials and should not be too old to venture out to the sea,” he said.

“The PCG also should make sure that there are enough life vests for all passengers and crew and that all those aboard wear such safety gear all throughout the trip,” he added.

Malacañang yesterday vowed to get to the bottom of the sea mishap.

“What we need to know here is if there is negligence on the part of anyone, whether on the part of the owner of the boat or on the part of our fellows on the ground. That should come out and they should be meted the necessary penalties,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

Another boat capsizes

Meanwhile, another boat capsized in the waters between Bantayan Islands in Cebu and Gigantes Group of Islands in Iloilo on Thursday afternoon hours after M/B Kim Nirvana-B capsized off the coast of Ormoc.

Seven fishermen from Victorias City in Negros Occidental went missing since their boat capsized, Lt. Cmdr. Ramil Palabrica of the PCG in Bacolod City told The STAR yesterday. – With Evelyn Macairan, Jaime Laude, Aurea Calica, Paolo Romero, Danny Dangcalan,