Enrile says no to Senate Inquiry on MV Princess of Stars

The capsized MV Princess of Stars is another media mileage for aspiring presidentiables in the senate. It is therefore not surprising if the publicity hungry senators would want to open up an investigation on the ill fated ship. We all know that Philippine Senators abuse their power to investigate. They would always insist that their investigations are done in aid of legislation. However, years of investigations on several issues did not produce any laws. Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, the Senate Chair on Services Committee that gave away franchises to shipping companies, refused another Senate Inquiry saying that that the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) should deal with the investigation process. The results of BMIs investigation can be used by the senate in order to formulate new laws that would prevent another sea tragedy in the future.

The Princess of the Stars Tragedy

I couldn’t understand why the Philippine Coast Guard allowed the ‘Princess of the Stars’ to sail despite the fact that a typhoon is brewing in the country. Ships sinks on good weather but the propensity of Ship sinking in a bad weather is so much higher. We are now left with hundreds of grieving families of the passengers who died when the ship capsized.

The government, Sulpicio Lines (owner of the capsized ship) and the families of the victims are now pointing fingers on who really are responsible for the tragedy that could have been prevented. I pity the families of the victims because no amount of insurance money could commensurate to the lives that were lost.

The government is now on the process of retrieving the dead bodies of the passengers and officers. Identifying the dead bodies will follow. It is very important for the families get their corpses (dead relatives) in order to have a closure.

This will never be the first or the last sea tragedy. The Philippines is an archipelago and sea disaster is very common. The safest travel so far is the air travel. The airline industry should come up with inexpensive and affordable fares so that passengers will have an alternative to the very dangerous sea travel.

Violence against foreigners in South Africa

South Africa has high number of unemployment rate particularly in the black segment of the population. The high unemployment rate causes South Africans resentment to foreigners who they feel are taking the jobs away from them. Businesses in South Africa are illegally using refugees from the neighboring countries for cheap labor. The South African government should help refugees but must not compromise the right of their own citizens to earn a living. It’s their duty to serve and protect their people. They should also sanction businesses that hire cheap labors and favor foreigners over South Africans. It’s the only way to end the violence.

Added: Saturday, 24 May 2008, 10:36GMT

Should Iraq start to finance its own reconstruction?

What the US Senators are saying are irresponsible. The United States Invaded Iraq on false and fabricated reasons. The invasion made Iraq from being one of the most stable nations in the Arab World to a mess. It is the United States moral responsibility to pay for all the reconstruction and rebuilding cost of Iraq. Since the senators are responsible for authorizing this war, they have to bear the consequences of their actions. The American tax payers can get back at them through their ballot.

Added Al Jazeera Website: 26 April 2008 3:18 PM GMT