BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – A motorboat with 10 people aboard capsized off the coast of Guimaras Island yesterday at around 7:30 a.m.
The boat was from Valladolid, Negros Occidental, according to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Negros Occidental station chief, Commander Joe Luviz Mercurio.
It capsized while crossing the Guimaras Strait a few kilometers from Inampulugan Island, part of the municipality of Sibunag, Guimaras.
The coastguard substations in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental and Sibunag, Guimaras immediately responded, Mercurio said.
The 10 boat passengers were rescued by fishing boats and commercial vessels passing by, and were ferried back to Negros Occidental.
The capsized boat, meanwhile, was towed by coastguard personnel to Sibunag.
From what the PCG – Negros Occidental so far gathered, the boat was not authorized to carry passengers; t did not have the necessary permits to operate the route.
There was a ferry route between the towns of Valladolid and Pulupandan bound for the towns of Sibunag and San Lorenzo in Guimaras in the past, Mercurio said.
However, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) did not renew the permits of the passenger boats servicing the routes; wooden-hulled boats are now being phased out.
These boats are now being replaced by those with hulls that use reinforced materials such as fiberglass and steel.
Travelers not utilizing the authorized ports of entry and exit are a problem, said Mercurio.
The PCG commander recalled two incidents in Sagay City and San Carlos City earlier this year; boats sank due to inclement weather; it was later determined that the boats were not authorized to carry passengers.
“Ga pangawat sila for convenience but they are compromising their own safety,” Mercurio said.
There are no authorized ferry operations between Pulupandan and Valladolid heading to Guimaras, he stressed.
The only way Negrenses could reach Guimaras is by first heading to Iloilo City and from there crossing via the town of Buenavista or Jordan./PN
