COTABATO CITY — Interim lawmakers of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are pushing a ban on the operations in the region of the shipping company of MV Trisha Kirsten 3 that sank near Basilan on Jan. 26, a mishap that left 33 passengers dead so far.
This developed as grieving relatives appealed to government authorities to continue the search for more survivors. At least 60 passengers of the ill-fated vessel remain missing.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported late Friday, Jan. 30, that at least 316 survived the sea mishap. Its latest bulletin, however, did not indicate how many are still missing.
On Saturday, anxious families in Basilan and Sulu provinces claimed in an online video that their 60 relatives were not among those rescued.
“Whether our relatives are dead or alive, we need to see their bodies and end our anxiety,” a woman from Basilan said in Filipino in an online video.
BARMM Transitional Parliament members John Anthony “Jet” Lim, Jose Lorena, Nabil Tan, Don Mustapha Loong and Nurredha Misuari have authored a resolution seeking to ban Aleson Shipping Lines Inc. (ASLI), which owned the ill-fated MV Trisha Kirsten 3, from operating in any part of BARMM.
The five officials from Basilan and Sulu reportedly submitted their resolution on Jan. 30 for priority deliberation by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament.
“All of those who perished in that incident are our constituents,” Lim, a BTA majority floor leader and spokesman, was quoted as saying over the weekend.
The five regional lawmakers said they rallied the order of interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua for the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Bangsamoro Ports Management Authority to enforce in BARMM the directives of the Department of Transportation and Communications and Maritime Industry Authority suspending the ASLI operations.
In a separate order, Macacua also tasked the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG), and the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) to spearhead a coordinated operation to aid the victims. Macacua sits as concurrent MILG minister.
In compliance with the order, the MILG and MSSD established a command center in Basilan to quickly address the concerns of families, gather information on the missing and expedite the delivery of assistance from various BARMM agencies. The MILG’s Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READi) spearheads the command center operations.
The MILG-Basilan and READi have sent a technical team to assist the local government unit of Basilan, especially on the management of the dead and missing victims to ensure the proper recovery and documentation of the victims, Macacua’s office said.
Both BARMM entities held cluster meetings with the PCG, Philippine National Police, Philippine Red Cross, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices of Isabela City and Lamitan City to ensure the smooth flow of operations.
The MSSD office in Sulu has also been tasked to deliver appropriate aid. It has so far provided relief and food packages to 51 families of Sulu passenger-victims, it was learned.
“BARMM-initiated interventions should not mean a sort of passing blame to any party. It must redound to forging appropriate measures that can prevent a repeat of the tragedy,” interim Chief Minister Macacua was quoted as saying.
