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Manila: Transport officials are mulling the creation of a transport body that ensures the safety of sea travel in the archipelago in the wake of the ferry tragedy.
Department of Transportation and Communications Undersecretary for Maritime Transport Elena Bautista said the agency has drafted an executive order that will create the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) in the wake of MV Princess of the Stars disaster.
Bautista said the transport department is in the process of drafting an executive order, which is now ready to be transmitted to the Office of the President.
Bautista said the NTSB will be a separate body that will investigate transport disasters. Currently, matters relating to sea transport are under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).
Typhoon guidelines
Bautista said she was also tasked to call for industry-wide consultations regarding the guidelines for allowing ships to embark on their respective voyages in times of typhoons.
The MV Princess of the Stars' tragedy underlined the need for a separate body ensuring sea transport safety.
Likewise, it also brought to light the peculiarity of sea transport in the Philippines given the country's archipelagic nature where inter-island travel plays a large role in the lives of the people.
Currently, officials are at loggerheads over who is to blame for the Princess of the Stars mishap that claimed the lives of dozens of passengers.
Meanwhile, authorities said that three people were killed from transport vessel Lake Paoay, which sank also in central Philippines last Saturday. Seventeen were reported missing.
From the land areas that were buffeted by the storm, 224 more people were reported killed, 139 injured, and 44 missing.
A total of 198,224 families in 1,894 villages, 207 municipalities, 38 cities, and 38 provinces in 14 regions were affected by the storm. About 105,374 houses were damaged.
The fatal typhoon was the seventh to arrive in the country. About 21 storms enter the Philippines from June to August.
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