Hiding something?
What is supposed to be a joyous occasion for Taclobanons turned sour as media practitioners tasked to disseminate the good news were barred from entering the premises.
During the inauguration of the new passenger vessel, MV Claudine Stars, that will be ferrying passengers from Tacloban to Cebu, and vice versa, members of the local media were stopped at the gates. This was allegedly on instructions of the shipping company, Star Philippines Shipping Lines, Inc.
Star Philippines Shipping Lines is a sister company of Roble Shipping which offers Baybay-Cebu route for passengers near Baybay City.
No Transparency?
A Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) personnel who requested not to be identified told the media: “The order is not to allow any member of the local media to cover the inauguration. This may be painful to us being your friend but we have to accede to their request.”
Considering that the ship would carry passengers, the public expected transparency on the ship's conditions.
The actions of the company had raised questions as to its state or it's possible lapses that would lead them from allegedly evading the local media personalities.
“Do they have enough life jackets and lifeboats in case of an emergency? These are some of the questions that the management needs to inform the public,” Geron Ponferrada, a media consultant of the Tacloban City government, said.
This further led to the recollection of the Doña Paz tragedy in 1987 that killed around 4,000 passengers.
A Decrepit Ship?
Upon further research, it showed that MV Claudine Star was formerly known as Tanegashima No. 2 built in 1974 by Honda Heavy Industries in Saiki, Japan.
Later, it was acquired by the George and Peter Lines and renamed M/V Zamboanga Ferry that served the company’s Cebu-Dapitan-Zamboanga route.
In 2019, M/V Zamboanga Ferry was sold to Joy Roble of Roble Shipping, Inc. via Sunline Shipping Lines.
The vessel could have been refurbished by Roble but it is obsolete and outdated, just the same.
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