Mass grave under the waves Hopes dim for trapped 800
BY VICTOR REYES
COAST Guard frogmen yesterday were able to
penetrate the hull of the MV Princess of the Stars and recovered
two bodies, including that of an officer of the ship, as hopes
faded for around 800 people believed trapped inside the upturned
ship.
The Coast Guard said that so far 70 bodies of
passengers and crew of the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars
which capsized off Sibuyan island in Romblon last Saturday have
been retrieved.
Vice Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo, Coast Guard
commandant, said the divers planned to enter the ship as early
as Monday but were stopped by rough seas.
TRANSPORTATION Secretary Leandro Mendoza
yesterday said the Board of Marine Inquiry will be impartial in
its investigation on the condition of the vessels of Sulpicio
Lines which accounts for 40 percent of the shipping operations
in the country.
Mendoza said with the flock of passengers in
the ports in Manila and Cebu due to the suspension of Sulpicio’s
operations, other passenger vessels had been asked to
accommodate them.
Mendoza on Monday suspended the operations of
all 11 Sulpicio vessels pending a check on their seaworthiness.
MALACAÑANG yesterday defended President
Arroyo’s decision to push through with her 10-day official visit
to the United States, saying she remains in control of the
situation "through the advent of modern technology."
"Please note that while the President is
outside the country she is (still) in control of the situation,"
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in a briefing in
Malacañang.
Ermita was reacting to the statement of Jaro,
Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, that the President
should not have pushed through with the trip amid the disaster
caused by typhoon Frank.
