'Shame on you!'

But what Bautista, current DOTC undersecretary for maritime affairs, of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), efforts has a three-month deadline to protect human life and the environment since that is how long it may take to refloat the sunken vessel.

This is exactly what is going to happen since Bautista has already announced with a flourish that all rescue and retrieval efforts involving the sunken vessel are now on hold until it can be refloated because of the endosulfan threat, a process that can take as long as three months. Now that we are being treated to the sad and sorry spectacle that nothing much will happen in the near future, all I can say to that is a very simple but resounding: "Shame on you!"

"Shame on you!" to Bautista for pretending to know something about the maritime industry and the operations of inter-island vessels. And "Shame on you!" to whosoever decided to let Bautista loose from the Presidential Management Staff and inflict her on the DOTC. The same goes for the person or persons who even thought of hiring to the government service this icon of incompetence.

It was bad enough that Bautista got assigned to the DOTC as an assistant secretary and given the chairmanship of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. But things really hit rock bottom when Bautista's lackluster stint in the land transport body parlayed her a promotion to the undersecretary position and to the maritime sector at that.

How can we honestly expect somebody like Bautista to have any previous knowledge about the maritime industry , much more empathy for the victims of the MV Princess of the Stars and their families? This lady from the north has probably never ridden an inter-island vessel in her entire life before getting appointed as undersecretary. If we ask her five serious questions about the local maritime industry, it is unlikely that she will even be able to answer even one correctly.

Of course, leading the DOTC task force comes with the turf, which is why Bautista got the job. But if the DOTC is really interested in the welfare of the local maritime industry and the riding patrons of local inter-island vessels, there is no dearth of talent within the agency to lead an honest-to-goodness investigation. For one, there is Maritime Industry Authority administrator Vicente Suazo Jr., a maritime industry veteran. Even if we disqualify Suazo on the ground of possible conflict of interest, there are others who are equally knowledgeable about the local maritime industry among them Ninoy Aquino International Airport general manager Alfonso Cusi and Land Transportation Office head Alberto Suansing. If that is not enough, I am sure the Philippine Navy has a lot of retired and active-duty flag officers who are more than willing to volunteer their time and expertise to any investigation.

So, why are we stuck with Bautista, whose only other probable claim to fame is being made an awardee of a women's magazine hailing her as a woman who is "stylish, independent and open-minded; someone who knows what she wants." That is not very reassuring in a country such as ours where inter-island vessels are normally more than 20 years old by the time they see service here and where 20 weather disturbances in a year are considered normal. If we expect Bautista to leads the efforts to prevent a recurrence of the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy, whom are we kidding?

We are the midst of a another water transport crisis and this is not the time to rely on "someone who knows what she wants" but on someone who knows enough about the maritime industry. Sad to say, even a toothpick will run aground on the depth of Bautista's knowledge about her current job.

Already, Bautista's incompetence has reduced her to being the virtual spokesperson of MV Princess of the Stars owner Sulpicio Lines Inc. It is Bautista who makes all the public pronouncements on the tragedy and she apparently relies on what the shipping firm tells her. Now, we end up waiting for the sunken vessel to be refloated doing nothing for the speedy recovery of the bodies of the victims and prevent the possible seepage of its toxic cargo.

Usec Bautista, kung mayroon ka naman kahit kaunting kahihiyan, huwag mo na kaming lokohin. Mag-resign ka na para mapalitan ka sana ng naka-iintindi sa tungkulin mo!