More than a week after the tragic Iloilo Strait series of maritime incidents that claimed that life of more than 30 people, the wooden motorized boats were allowed again by the Maritime Industry Authority 6 (MARINA-6) to serve their old routes under certain conditions and close supervision of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

A limited number of life vest wearing passengers are allowed every trip and cargoes are strictly prohibited. The cover that shields the passengers from direct sunlight and rain was ordered rolled. Travel time is confined between 6:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m only.

The return of the wooden-hulled boats is better relief although limited compared to the system employed by ro-ro vessels and fastcrafts which augmented the Jordan-Iloilo route after the incident. Finally, crossing the island of Guimaras to Iloilo and vice versa is back to a little bit normal.

However, temporary as it may seem, the provincial government and municipal governments in Guimaras must act swiftly as the conditions set by MARINA are a bit outrageous. 

The 6:00 am to 6:00 pm limit is of course a preventive measure but it stupidly presupposes that traveling while the sun is up won’t kill people and after 6:00 pm voyage is life threatening. MARINA failed to appreciate that the tragic accident happened in the morning and early afternoon. 

If the said period of travel will continue, what will be its impact to those small industry producers and farmers who need to deliver their goods to the city before 6:00 am and worst, their goods are no longer allowed on the wooden boats thus they need to spend an extra amount going to the Jordan Wharf to catch a cargo boat which is allowed to leave at six in the morning also. The roro vessels of FF Cruz do not employ local help or dock workers to carry the baskets, cartons, sacks and crates of goods unless these products are loaded on a vehicle which of course means additional expense on the lowly producers.

The boat schedule approved by MARINA presupposes that all students from Guimaras studying in the city are given special treatments and are allowed to leave school before 4:00 in the afternoon. It also means that workers working in Iloilo City are given preferential treatment thus are allowed to leave work before 4 o’clock in the afternoon to beat the 6:00 pm last trip.

The prohibition of light cargoes on the wooden passenger boats presupposes that in the event of squalls, the sudden surge of waves and wind velocity will choose the boat carrying other goods. MARINA may have failed to appreciate that M/B Keziah 2 was empty when it was drowned by the squall.

Sooner, the negative economic impact would be felt by the people in the island and even to the point of making living in Guimaras costly and impossible. One can only imagine the padded costs on the goods coming from Iloilo and how small would be the margin of those lowly farmers from Guimaras the moment they sell their goods in the city.

MARINA failed to realize that they are actually killing the people of Guimaras. What is funnier, they ordered the boats to roll or fold their cover upon sailing. Everyday babies, the elderlies and the sick are brought to Iloilo vice versa. Why is MARINA imposing the punishment of their inadequacy to the people of Guimaras? 

During fair weather, if by their assumption the cover factored a lot in the recent accident, why roll it when it’s actually for the protection of the passengers? The deadly accident happened because of the bad weather. Why can’t MARINA simply issue a simple directive that all wooden bancas will not be allowed to travel in times of bad weather and passengers will be automatically directed to the roro vessels.

Does MARINA fully understand what they are doing or are they simply trying to cover a fatal mistake? So far, an immediate investigation was announced and to date, MARINA and the PCG or the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has not revealed the result.

Guimaras is now being sold as the Farm Tourism growth area in the country, unfortunately with a very slow and passive reaction to what the agencies like MARINA and PCG are doing in terms of entry and exit to the island, sooner the potentials that are being tapped and initiated will be compromised.

Shit happens and death could increase if MARINA will remain a lame regulatory agency and PCG is confined to being a mere team of cameramen in times of massive rescue efforts. The officials of Guimaras should not allow both MARINA and PCG to rob its people further by putting them at their mercy.