PRIME VERTICAL

OUR CULTURE OF BLAMING AND FINGER POINTING

2012-01-07T06:36:00.000-08:00

By: Capt. Alvils

We, Filipinos have a habit of blaming others for our own failures. When something goes wrong we point a finger at somebody; not knowing that every time we make this gesture, 3 of our fingers points back at us, another one pointing to where we’re standing.

There are many theories about the causes of malaise that afflicts our country. One can make all kinds of speculations, but the most logical reason is our damaged culture.

We blame illegal loggings for the denudations of our forest and destruction of our watersheds; believe to be the primary cause of flooding and landslides. But so far nothing has been done about it. The only thing that our lawmakers did was to enact a law imposing life imprisonment for offenders. Whether they can enforce this law and jail the culprits still remains to be seen. What makes them think that imposing stiffer penalties can deter these scoundrels from cutting down trees? Despite the total log ban imposed by Malacanang, several timber firms enjoy immunity from their Autonomous Regions for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) protectors. If they were able to get away in the past by bribing corrupt ARMM officials, how can they be stopped now when the same officials are still around? Some are even directly involved in these illicit activities.

Local leaders of the cities of Iligan and Cagayan De Oro blame PAGASA for lack of weather warning during the pre-Christmas catastrophic flooding. PAGASA disputed their claim, saying it was them who ignored and took for granted the regular weather bulletin issued by the bureau thinking that “Sendong”, a weak tropical storm (it was upgraded from LPA to TS just before making landfall), will pass by Mindanao Island without much incident. PAGASA was right. The storm had an average wind force, not enough to blow rooftops or destroy structures, but they failed to foresee the huge amount of rainfall that it carried. Unlike other advanced nation, our bureau’s weather instruments are not sophisticated enough to forecast the quantity of downpour (inches of rain) that a typhoon brings.

“Let’s face it, unlike the people of Luzon, Mindanao, particularly the residents of the cities of Iligan and Cagayan De Oro, are not used to extreme weather conditions. So, you cannot expect them to be prepared when severe flooding strike their areas”, said one weather analyst.

The Iligay-nons and Cagay-anons blame the local and national government for its disaster unpreparedness and sluggish response to aid the calamity victims. Days after the catastrophe, supply of food, potable water, medicines and other relief goods still came in trickles. As soon as the first truck of supplies arrives, the evacuees scrambled and clawed at its other to get their share. The scene in most evacuation centers were utterly chaotic.

“In difficult times like this, when you cannot feel the presence of your elected officials, you feel sorry for having voted them to office”, said one disgruntled Cagay-anon.

Like us, the Japanese also suffered the same fate when a killer “tsunami”, spawned by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, hit their eastern seaboard. Thousands of people perished, thousands more were made homeless. An entire city was washed away and wiped out from the map. As the roads were impassable, it took awhile before help arrive. But there was no pointing of fingers; none of them complained. Nobody blame the government for the tragedy; much less criticize their officials for late delivery of food and supplies. They all waited, shared whatever food and water they could scavenge from the trash of debris with their neighbors. Instead of weeping for their misfortunes, they helped, consoled and comforted each another. When relief goods finally arrive, they quietly lined up in a queue, waiting patiently for their turn. They grieved for the loss of their loved ones, but at the end of the day they buried their dead, stood up, picked up the pieces and slowly rebuild their devastated borough. Government officials, as an expression of concern and sympathy to their constituents, donated part of their earnings and poured in enough funds to hasten their recovery. I do not wish to be Japanese, but I admired these people and pray that one day we can emulate the kind of culture they have,

We blame the clogged and poor drainage system for the cause of flooding in our cities and places of domicile. Yet, we continue to throw our garbage and refuse along our thoroughfares, esteros, bays and river tributaries. A person throwing a piece of candy wrapper on the street is as guilty as the one indiscriminately dumping tons of garbage in the wrong place. You can never say a small piece of chewing gum will not make a difference to our ecological system. Imagine the effect to our environment if 90,000,000 people will each throw a piece of tiny litter everywhere.

With striking similarity, we blame the former President, now Pampanga representative, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for emptying the government coffers and corrupting almost all branches of our government including the Supreme Court, our last bastion of justice. Yet, we tolerated her for so long and allowed her to remain in power for 9 years. Adding insult to injury, the people in her district- including members of the clergy - who refused to believe that she looted the country but admitted that the nation is on the brink of bankruptcy because of corruption, elected her to congress. What made the line of thinking of Pampanguenos different from that of the Filipino populace boggles my mind.

People accused the former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, of crimes against humanity, atrocities and plundering the wealth of our nation during the martial law years. In fact, we have had indefinitely kept the slogan "never again give up our democracy", and even played old newsreels to remind us of the horror of his oppressive regime. But look at his namesake, whom people elected to the senate, who will most likely run in the next presidential election. Do we really have short memories or just simply unpatriotic? Was the first EDSA people's power revolution an exercise in futility? No matter what others say that his namesake is a different breed, he will always carry the genes of his father.

It is common in our political system for the accused to point a finger at his accusers when charged with graft and corruption. More often than not, it is the whistle blower that get into trouble. He is the one being investigated and placed on the hot seat for, the accused claim, purportedly lying.

Still fresh in my mind was the statement of one high, former Comelec official involved in the ZTE NBN scandal. He admitted in public saying to Com. Romulo Neri, “may 200 ka dito sec”, but denied it’s all about commission money and if indeed it was, never clarified if it was 200 pesos, 200 thousand or 200 million. My goodness, does he really think Filipinos are that stupid?

One government official that I admire most is this late ex-general who was charged with receiving “pabaon” from the AFP. Instead of pointing a finger at his accusers, he used his pointer finger to pull the trigger of the gun that would end his own life. In Japanese they call it “Hara-kiri”. If our corrupt political leaders will only follow his example, perhaps we can rid the government of scalawags, cleanse our political system and be a great nation again. I will be more than happy to send bouquet of flowers to their wakes.

Looking back to how we downgraded from one of wealthiest nation in Asia after the Second World War to one of the poorest and backward country at present time, some superstitious individuals attributed our miseries to the myth of Manuel Quezon. He preferred a country run like hell by Filipinos to one run like heaven by Americans- Obviously, he got his wish.

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PMI COLLEGES - A WAKE UP CALL FOR THE SEAFARING INDUSTRY

2011-12-06T00:51:00.000-08:00

By: Capt. Alvils

17,000 marine students of PMI colleges woke up one day to find their school has stopped operation. The incident stunned not only the learners but also our entire seafaring nation. No one could believe that this can happen to one of the largest (in terms of enrollees) and oldest maritime institution in the country.

Well, it did not happen overnight. It was a gradual regression of an academic system that after years of neglect and disregard of principles finally metamorphosed to the lowest level of learning. It all started when the younger generation Clomas took over the helm of the institution. As they bickered over shares of profits, they became more concern on the income rather than maintaining the standard and prestige of the school. Upgrading of new equipment were set aside, school facilities were left to deteriorate, Quality Management System (QMS) disregarded and teaching staffs were short-changed and taken for granted resulting to mass exodus of qualified instructors.

An old colleague of mine, who was once a member of the school faculty, told me horrible stories of how he was required by the management to conduct two classes in navigation all at the same time. He has to arrange the two classes to be closed together to enable him to transfer from one classroom to another.

This deplorable state of the educational system of the present PMI clearly reflected from the poor quality of its graduates. As the head of a manning agency trying to hire and inspire novice sailors, I was often distraught by their lack of even the basic knowledge in seafaring. Most of those I interviewed could not even define “navigation”; much less solve simple mathematical problems in navigation. Such learning tasks that I need to know by heart as a student lest I get the ire of my mentors and receive a severe tongue lashing or slap at the back of the head.

Readers should not get me wrong; I am a PMI alumnus. I graduated in 1967, at the time when the country was still considered the shipping power of Asia. I can vividly recall the late Capt. Roque LLanes who, at the flick of his fingers, can draw an almost perfect circle replicating the celestial sphere and its meridians, explain thoroughly the various system of coordinates and discuss to the class with clarity the art of celestial navigation. Then, there was also Chief Mate Jose Reyes (don’t know if he’s still around) who forced me to excel in the subjects of Piloting and Terrestial Navigation by giving me a failing grade in the first semester, making me the most talented repeater in his class. In retrospect, I am proud to say that without these well-knowledgeable, dedicated maritime educators of the erstwhile PMI, I wouldn’t be what I am today.

Most maritime academe experts believed that the recent decision by CHED to close down two non-complaint maritime programs of PMI colleges is not only long overdue but may just be the tip of the ice berg. If they will only search deeper underneath the surface, they will find the specter of a maritime education system that has had significantly deteriorated.

The CHED’s order to phase out the BS Marine Transportation (BSMT) and BS Marine Engineering (BSMarE) programs in PMI's Manila and Quezon City campuses on July 18, 2011 triggered protests actions from its students, school officials and supporters. They claimed that the decision was unjust and unnecessary. No one really explained to them that CHED was forced to issue the closure order – which in my opinion should have been done long time ago - to prevent the European Union (EU) from withdrawing certification rights for over 240,000 Filipino seafarers working onboard vessels registered under EU member states. Once certification is withdrawn, ships carrying Filipino seafarers will no longer be allowed to enter and dock in EU territorial waters.

“The Commission's duty is to safeguard and preserve the quality and standards of the Philippine maritime education, and maintain our country's good standing in the global seafaring community,” explained CHED. However, it took EU’s warning of imposing sanctions this coming December, 2011, before CHED would finally act on the matter.

It is noteworthy to recall that way back in March, 2006 the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) conducted an inspection on the Philippines on its possible non-compliance to the IMO’s Standard Training Watch keeping (STCW) convention. The convention is transposed into EU law on the minimum level of training of seafarers, which provides for a European system to recognize by EU member states certificates issued by third world countries. The disappointing result of inspection, which was conveyed to the then MARINA administrator, Elena Bautista (now Mrs. Elena Horn) – who obviously doesn’t know what to do with the report - reflected a serious non-compliance of the Philippines with STCW convention, particularly on the aspects of quality standard system, monitoring of maritime education and training institutions.

In April of last year, EMSA experts revisited the country and conducted inspection of the Maritime Training Council (MTC), Professional Regulation Communication (PRC), and Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and National Telecommunication Commission (NTC).

Among the maritime school inspected were the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA), PMI Colleges, University of Cebu (UC), University of Visayas (UV), and the Palompon Institute of Technology (PIT).

Two training centers, in connection with the implementation of the Management Level Courses (MLC), namely: Excellence and Competency Training Center (EXACT) and the Internship Navigation Training Center (INTC) were also inspected.

Among all the maritime schools and training institutions inspected and found non-compliant from the last 2006 EMSA inspection, it was only PMI Colleges that failed to rectify its deficiencies. Hence, CHED, the regulatory body being blamed for lack of monitoring and for ignoring PMI’s repeated violations, to show to EU that they’re doing something about the negative findings, was compelled to close down the school lest it create havoc to the country’s entire seafaring industry.

But why single out PMI colleges when there are about three or four dozen more substandard maritime schools and training institutions, particularly those located in the province, that couldn’t even meet the minimum requirements of CHED (one nautical school outside metro manila even constructed a wheelhouse that can easily mock a “mock bridge”)?

In my article – “the sad state of Philippine maritime education”, I wrote that on 24 January 2007, the Filipino Association for Mariners Employment, inc. (FAME), perhaps wary of the result of EMSA inspections, conducted an assessment of maritime schools all over the country. A uniform set of assessment materials were used to test the aptitude of sophomore maritime students. The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) and PMI colleges did not participate in the assessment program, saying that they know their school well and doesn’t need anybody to tell them their standard. Perhaps, this explains why EMSA gave them a top priority inspection when it revisited the country last year.

What happened to PMI colleges is not the end but just the beginning of an uphill battle to uplift the standard of our maritime education. A complete overhauling of the system should be done. And it should start from CHED’s very own backyard. They should stop relying on the private sectors to prepare maritime course modules, outlines, frame works and do the monitoring for them. I have long been proposing to our national government to remove TESDA and MTC from the scene and create a single “Department of Maritime Affairs”, composed of Master Mariners, Chief Engineers and maritime educators, to deal with all matters pertaining to maritime academe, issuance of Certificate of Competencies (COC), oversee and implement new rules that would enhance the quality of our maritime training and education, The proposal fell on deaf ears.

Meantime, the eyes of the international shipping community are focus upon us. Considering Filipinos comprises the largest number of seafarers’ onboard foreign-trading vessels, ship owners are more concern with us than any other nationalities. But we need to show to them that we’re not only superior in numbers but also in seafaring proficiency and intellectual capability.

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FLAG OF CONVENIENCE UNRELATED TO THE ISSUE OF MV "RENA"

2011-11-01T03:57:00.000-07:00

By: Capt. Alvils

The other day, I read a press release from a group called – International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC)Philippines Foundation, commenting about the issue of MV”Rena”, a container ship, commanded by a Filipino master, that run aground somewhere along the coast of Tauranga, New Zealand, spilling hundreds of tons of oil into the sea.

“The evils in substandard shipping and in the Flag of Convenience system used by unscrupulous ship owners”, was the introductory statement of their article. It seems that they have associated the grounding and oil pollution accident with the Flag Of Convenience (FOC), which they presumed were all substandard ships.

“Oppose the Flag of Convenience system! Ensure decent work for seafarers! Keep our seas safe!” was how they ended their news bulletin. Their real motive behind the press release boggles the mind. Was it to aid the Filipino seafarers or just run after the foreign ship owners? If their intention is to “ensure decent work for seafarers”, then what they will attain in writing such article will be the opposite. Anyway, whoever are the people involve with this group definitely need a lesson about shipping and seafaring.

I was tasked by our organization to write a response not only to counter the irresponsible statement of this group but also to prevent diverting the public’s attention on what the real issue of MV “Rena” should be. Here’s the content of my letter:

Dear Sirs,

We, the officers and members of Association of Marine Officers and Ratings (AMOR) and its political arm, 1-SEAMAN, are very much appreciative of the concerns of International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC) Philippines foundation to the welfare and working conditions of Filipino seafarers, particularly in their lambasting of the attitude of racism and racial discrimination displayed by some rightist New Zealanders towards our fellow Filipino seafarers accused of destruction of their marine environment. However, you maybe barking at the wrong tree in saying that the root of all these evils are in the Flag Of Convenience (FOC) system practiced by foreign ship owners.

Allow us to explain to you, in a manner that you will easily understand, what FOC is all about. If a Japanese, American or European ship owner wishes to purchase a vessel and have it man by Filipino crew, they cannot do so because of the crewing restrictions imposed by their own country. American flag vessels are not allowed to employ seafarers other than American nationals, so are the Japanese and other foreign countries. In fact, even Philippine flag vessels are not allowed to hire foreign seafarers. There are, however, several small countries in the world, e.g. Liberia, Panama, Isle of Man, Marshal Is., St. Kitts, among others, that encourages employment of foreign nationals provided they are properly certificated under their flag. These countries are called the Flag Of Convenience (FOC). They provide convenience to ship owners by way of cheaper registration fees, minimal documentary requirements, less red tape, lower tax payments and the privilege to hire any seafarers they want.

It is not easy for a country to operate vessels under a flag of convenience system. Offices and flag safety inspectors, surveyors need to be stationed and established all over the world, vessels has to be regularly monitored, and surveyors need to conduct onboard flag state inspections to ensure their vessels pass the scrutiny of Port State Control (PSC). Strict compliance with all IMO conventions and regulations are just one of its mandatory requirements; besides having all their vessels class under the International Association of Classification Society (IACS).

The Philippine government, at one point, contemplated on converting the country to a flag of convenience for purposes of generating revenues. It failed because majority of our country’s registered vessels were found substandard and unsafe. IACS simply refused to class our sea crafts.

Indeed, there is evil in operating substandard ships. They’re the so called “floating coffins” and the main cause of most sea accidents and disasters. But you should not equate substandard ships to Flag Of Convenience. If all FOC ships are substandard, then none of them will be allowed to sail. The PSC of every countries, tasked to regulate shipping in their own ports, are so strict with the implementation and compliance with SOLAS, MARPOL 73/78, SOPEP, ISM CODE, ISPS CODE and STCW 78 (as amended in 1995) that any ships with major violations are detained in port. Ships found to have minor deficiencies are allowed to sail and rectify their non-conformities only up to the next port of call (to be inspected again by the PSC of that port). Hence, if MV” Rena” was detained somewhere but allowed to sail to New Zealand, she must have rectified her deficiencies from last port. Moreover, even a newly built ship by a specific country of registry (not necessarily FOC), can incur a deficiency if she fails to pass the stringent inspection of PSC. So, there is really no relation between a substandard ship and FOC.

Perhaps, the above explanations have enlightened you that there is nothing wrong with the Flag Of Convenience. The Republic of Panama, which has flagged the most number of ships in the world, is the leading employer of Filipino seafarers. Therefore, if your group is really determined to address the plight of Filipino seafarers and ensure their continuous employment, you should refrain from commenting against the FOC.

What we should do instead is to confine our argument to the issue of how the New Zealanders are treating the Filipino master, Capt. Mauro Balomanga, and his Second Mate. According to the news, the two are guilty of massive pollution and destructions of their marine environment. They said it happened because of their unsafe navigational practices. “They cut corners”, the report said.

For the ordinary readers, cutting corners means shortening the ship’s travel time and distance by disregarding the way points of course lines laid down on the chart and altering ship’s heading earlier than planned, thereby decreasing the vessel’s distance from the coast. Once in awhile mariners practice “cutting corners” to save time or avoid obstructions along the intended route of the vessel. Hence, if the master did exactly that (cut corners), he must have his own reason to take such a risky maneuver; whatever it is, I am sure running his vessel aground and spilling fuel oil overboard were NOT one of them.

While the incident can be considered a vehicular accident that can happen even to the best Captains and navigating officers, they arrested and handcuffed both seafarers like a common criminal. The law says: “a person is innocent until proven guilty”. Yet, it appears the two seamen were already pre-judged as guilty even before a trial begins.

The oil spill of approximately 200 metric tons - which was nothing compared to the 114,000 metric tons spilt by Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska - from the ship’s fuel oil tank was for them already an act of “genocide”, with gigantic proportion, that can wipe out all the sea birds, mammals, creatures and the entire marine life of the coast of New Zealand. Indeed, an exaggeration, over-reaction and naïve assessment from one track-minded people.

Like what the populace did with Benito Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, Moamar Gaddafi and other tyrants of history, majority of New Zealanders are now asking for the head of the master and his second mate, as if the two are guilty of crimes against humanity or mass-killing of their inhabitants. Do you think they can do that to American or European nationals? Of course not! They have the guts to discriminate because the seafarers involved are FILIPINOS. They know our government will not lift a finger to aid its beleaguered citizens unless the Philippine media is involved.

As of this writing, our government, particularly our DFA, has done nothing to provide any form of legal assistance or even protest this dastardly act of oppression and racism towards our own countrymen. The incident has severely demoralized our seafarers. There is a growing sentiment among our seamen that they cannot rely on our government if they ever get into trouble anywhere in the world. The common perception is that once you’re out of the country, you’re on your own.

“Sometimes you wish you’re an OCW who entered a foreign country illegally and abused by the employer or a “drug mule” out to be hanged abroad for drug trafficking before our government can take notice of your predicament”, commented one frustrated seaman.

We are now soliciting support from various sectors of the society, especially the maritime industry, to join us in lodging a nation-wide protest action to prevent Capt. Balomanga and his watch officer from being incarcerated. 12 months imprisonment should not be a penalty for a navigational error.

Yours truly,

1-SEAMAN, Party Secretary

++ END ++

AMOR SEAMAN - A MESSAGE FOR THE ENTIRE MARITIME INDUSTRY

2011-10-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

BY: Capt. Alvils

The recent announcement to introduce the party list group AMOR SEAMAN drew flaks of criticism from various individuals with selfish motives and mind sets of protecting their vested interests rather than cooperate and collaborate with the majority for the betterment of the maritime industry.

I was compelled to write and circulate to all concerned this letter addressed to one of the leaders and prime movers of the movement:

Dear Rear Admiral Don,

Congratulations! Your response to the so-called perpetual critics of the maritime industry was well written. I just hope the message went through.

I was right in saying there will be negative and violent reactions from some sectors as soon as we make such pronouncement about the group. By now, there must already be a growing perception in the maritime industry that we may have started our movement on the wrong foot. This early there’s already bickering long before we even thought of electioneering. While you gave us advise not to “fight fire with fire”, my concern is that if I keep silent, people might think that these detractors has a point in saying that we are “misled”. My friends in the industry should know me by now that I don’t usually sit over the sidelines and watch the opposing team, with crab mentalities, play their own cynical, self-serving and counter-productive game of – “If we cannot do it, nobody can and no one will be allowed to try”.

The opposition’s advices, no matter how naïve, are well taken into consideration. But they should never think they are the “learned” and have the monopoly of talent. There are too many talented people in the maritime sector and this is perhaps the reason why the industry is currently divided. They try to outdo each other; thinking that their personal opinions matters most, that they’re always right and others are always wrong.

The real motive of their negative comments boggles the mind. It keeps me wondering why they’re trying to discourage us, wanting us to give up the struggle from where they left off and failed. Does the thought that we might succeed this time gives them the creeps? Granting that we do quit, what hope is there left for the maritime industry that has continued to regress for the past decades? Have they ever consider that if majority of us will continue to ignore the call for unity we will all be ridiculed and branded by our society as an industry that has the most number of bright, highly intellectual but narrow-minded leaders?

“If you cannot be part of the solution, don’t be part of the problem”, is my unsolicited advice to these critics and detractors.

Indeed, some party list groups are now trying to address the plight of seafarers in congress. The proposal to create a “Magna Carta” for seafarers is most welcome by the Industry. But isn’t it humiliating that we have to rely on these party list groups to alleviate the deteriorating conditions of shipping and seafaring in our country? Are we really that dumb and helpless that we cannot even do it ourselves?

Moreover, these party list groups do not really understand the intricacies and complexities of shipping and seafaring. There are other pressing issues of concern that need to be addressed, review of passed laws that remains detrimental to shipping and seafaring, and other laws that need to be enacted to meet the demands of a growing industry. Obviously, only the maritime people, not the various workers party list groups, know what is best for the industry.

For the skeptics, pessimists and doomsday Sayers, here’s what I have to say:

 AMOR SEAMAN is a movement different from that of an association called “AMOR”. It was created with the sole intent of unifying the fragmented maritime Industry. If in the near future it transform into a party list group, its organizers, officers and members will not necessarily be its nominees. They will still be selected from our synergy of talented maritime professionals, prime movers, stakeholders, achievers and honorable leaders of the industry. So, if the reason for sour-grapping is the lack of chance to be a party list congressman, everyone is invited to show how good they are and present themselves for election during a nation-wide maritime assembly.

 We did not just add the name “SEAMAN”. It was the product of a careful study, long hours of deliberations and exchange of opinions. It signifies not only one voice, unity and solidarity, but also the great number (we are the number one supplier of seafarers in the world) of our working force onboard domestic and worldwide trading vessels.

 The word “SEAMAN” is a “name recall” that can easily be identified as to what sector it belongs even by a humble pedicab driver. Using acronyms, i.e. AMO, AKSI, ALON, might confuse even the ordinary seafarers, their families and the voting public. Suffice to say, the word “SEAMAN” per se can already campaign by itself.

 Of course it is easy to list down advocacies. But, if people will only review the list with open mind, they will notice that these are the real predicaments of the industry that badly need to be addressed. Let me ask them this question: would they rather not see a working plan that a group like AMOR SEAMAN intends to undertake for the sake of the industry?

 The rules in COMELEC have recently been changed since the last party list election. While it is true that party list groups spent a substantial amount of funds in the past just to accredit their group through the so called “back-door” accreditation, we were assured by credible and knowledgeable people that, under the new administration, COMELEC have now leveled up its playing field for accreditation and election of party list groups.

Besides the inspiring display of enthusiasms, interest and words of encouragement and support from seamen, major players and stakeholders of the industry and various private entities, what motivated us to create this movement was the 2009 Supreme Court ruling junking the COMELEC’s old formula of requiring 2% of the total votes cast for party list to win a seat in congress.

There will now be 2 rounds of allocating seats for party list. The following is a quoted article pertaining to this issue:

“In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional this formula, as written in RA 7941, also known as the Party-List System Act. Consequently, the SC formulated a new system of distributing party-list seats in Congress:

 20% of all seats in the Lower House are allocated to sectoral representatives (meaning, the number of party-list Congressmen is now equal to 20% of the total number of district representatives)

 The party-lists that garnered at least 2% of the total number of votes are guaranteed one seat. This is called the first round.

 If the total number of party-list representatives after the first round does not reach the allocated number of seats for sectoral representatives, a formula based on the % of votes garnered would determine which winning party-lists would get more seats. This process would repeat until the 20% (of the total number district representatives) seats in the lower house is attained”.

In the last 2010 party list election, AGHAM, garnering the least number of votes among the winners, won a seat with only 146,032 votes. Unfortunately, the votes for the 3 competing maritime party list groups (counting the disqualified UFS), combined together, did not even hit the 100 K mark.

Our call for unity is sincere with no strings attached. If we can only set aside our personal ambitions and agree to a common goal of supporting a unified organization, the maritime sector can be a power to reckon with. As they say in Filipino, “malakas ang walis pagkat bigkis-bigkis”

Finally, despite my position as Secretary of AMOR SEAMAN, it was never my ambition to run for congress. I have always believed that there are more qualified and talented people in the maritime industry than me. Albeit I have one dream – to improve the quality of life of all Filipino seafarers, unite and uplift the industry where my sons, grandson and I belong; then leave a legacy in shipping that will long be remembered.

Yours truly,

Capt. Alvils
Secretary General, AMOR SEAMAN

FICTITIOUS SEA SERVICE RECORD - TAMPERING OF SEAMAN'S BOOK

2011-08-11T03:10:00.000-07:00

By: Capt. Alvils

A great number of domestic ship owners and ship management companies are now engaged in the illegal selling of faked sea service to marine (deck and Engine) graduates desperate to show proof that they’ve already been to sea.

This ‘modus operandi’ (Sea Service for Sale) in domestic shipping has now become one of the most lucrative business of both operators and managers of coastwise-trading vessels. They operate with impunity; for ages they have defied the checking and monitoring by any government agencies.

For marine graduates to complete their BS curriculum, they offer the following rates:

1. 12 months apprenticeship training onboard domestic trading vessels - Php 25,000

2. 12 months sea service stamp on the SIRB (without shipboard apprenticeship) – Php 6,000 – 7,000 (half of this amount is paid to the master)

In item (1), CHED requires a marine graduate to have a Training Record Book (TRB) and 12 months sea experience onboard sea-going vessels of 500 GRT or more to qualify for the BS curriculum. In some cases, just to collect the training fees, they assigned trainees to tug boats or smaller size vessels and after sailing for several months, issue a sea service under a vessel over 500 GRT or larger; anti-dating the joining date to complete the 12 months service period.

In item (2), bogus service record is stamped on their individual SIRB. The purpose is similar to item (1). However, this is easily discovered once an applicant undergoes formal interview. They can not even remember the trade of vessel, ports of call, cargoes it carried, much less the name of master who signed their seaman’s book. After repeated questioning, they always confessed paying for their sea service.

Unfortunately, manning agencies like us and most especially the US embassy are now aware of these clandestine operations. So much so that, once caught the future of these young seafarers are place in serious jeopardy.

The US embassy recently issued warning that they will sanction and penalize any manning/shipping companies caught applying US C1D visa for seafarers with fake service records. Hence, no manning agency would take the risk of hiring them for world-wide trading vessels.

Sad to say, considering this is now a common practice in domestic shipping, it has become difficult for anyone to determine whether a seafarer has really served onboard inter-island vessels. The standard of training, coupled by questionable service record, is too poor that a supposedly well-experienced Able Bodied seaman (AB) could not pass the qualifying exam for an Ordinary Seaman (OS) on world-wide trading ships. In the same manner that an OIC licensed officer (I wonder how they pass the PRC licensure exam) could not even qualify for an AB position in overseas trade.

MARINA, PRC and other government agencies should crack down on these ship owners and managers selling false service record to neophyte sailors. Instead of helping them secure an overseas assignment, the opposite will happen. The fictitious service record they bought will actually ruin their seafaring career.

Likewise, any master (captain) caught signing a seaman’s book with falsified service record should have its license suspended, if not revoked.

Meantime, MARINA and PRC should undertake stiffer measures to completely eradicate this selling of sea service in domestic shipping. In addition to service records and entries to the seaman’s book, domestic trading seafarers must also be required to present an SSS deductions/contributions and crew lists from the time of joining to their time of disembarkation. Masters must also be required to execute an affidavit attesting to the authenticity of the entries to the seaman’s book, under threat of suspension or revocation of licenses if found guilty of falsification of sea service record.

+++ END +++

THE FENCE-SITTERS OF THE MARITIME INDUSTRY

2011-07-09T15:40:00.001-07:00

By: Capt. Alvils

A person who refused to be involved and take side between two controversies or possibilities is called a “Fence-Sitter”. It is common to see this kind of people in the maritime industry. They see the need for changes but prefer to sit down and wait for others to make a stand in confronting the issue of deteriorating condition of shipping and seafaring in the country.

I may be barking at the wrong tree, but I have persistently wrote in many of my articles that if we want to change the global perception that our country is the maritime disaster capital of the world, the government should leave shipping and seafaring to the expert. Sad to say, instead of creating one single authority regulating shipping, as recommended by expert, the opposite happened. At present, there are too many government agencies meddling in the affairs of shipping and seafaring. We have the POEA, MTC, TESDA, MARINA (under DOTC), PPA, PCG, CHED, PRC, and sometimes the MARITIME POLICE.

“Too many cook spoils the broth”, said one maritime expert who has consistently criticized the overlapping functions of these agencies.

Since time immemorial, our country has considered the maritime industry as just a branch of its government. It became a primary source of its income. Appointing people to sensitive maritime positions who has never seen the inside of a ship, much less understand the complexity of seafaring, is the perpetual order of business.

Take for instance the two ladies who were then the administrator of two government agencies regulating domestic sea transport and deployment of sea personnel. Imagine a woman, whose only qualification is her closeness to the president, heading the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), considered by the international shipping community as the most complex industry in the world! A crazy adviser can always tell her to require all passenger ships to be fitted with out-riggers over the sides to prevent them from capsizing (as in the case of Super ferry 9) and she will most likely issue such an order to all domestic ship owners.

Then we have the lady POEA administrator who, at the height of hostage-taking in Somalia, almost issued an order prohibiting Filipino seamen from boarding any vessels that transits the Gulf of Aden. Had one adviser did not told her that this is not possible, she would have circulated that stupid memo circular.

MTC, CHED, TESDA and PCG are not spared from these incompetents. While they hold the mandate to regulate maritime training and education, shipping and seafaring, they could not function without the aid and services of volunteering Master Mariners, Chief Engineers and merchant marine deck and engine officers. These are the maritime experts whom they pay minimum allowances and honorariums, while they raked in million of pesos in fat salaries, bonuses and allowances, to help them perform their duties and justify the existence of their agencies.

The Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI), who conducts investigation every time a shipping disaster occurs, worked only in an advisory capacity for PCG. Yet, they’re the expert who can determine what went wrong, who’s to blame and what measures to take to prevent repetition of similar accident. In other words, they are more qualified than anybody from the agency who appointed them. Isn’t it only logical that they should head the agencies regulating safety in shipping?

While majority of our maritime players and stakeholders believed that the maritime industry has been regressing for the past decades, very few really understand that politics is the main reason why it is now in a much worse state then before. Many prefers to watch over the sidelines, staying away from any kind of political activities, not knowing that if we continue to be uninvolved the maritime sector will always be at the mercy of these legislators who will most likely pass and enact laws detrimental to shipping and seafaring business.

My Japanese friend once told me, “Heripin (Philippines) will never prosper because your number one business is Poritics (politics). Poritics no income, only spend”. True indeed, here in our country we eat politics for breakfast, and nothing works without it.

My question to those who wish to stay out of politics is - what shall we do? Leave our maritime industry to these incompetent lawmakers and swallow whatever bitter pill they push into our mouth? Isn’t it better to join their ranks so we could choose what pill to take?

Unlike the minority group of gays, lesbians, security guards and jeepney drivers, the maritime community, numbering about 10 million warm bodies, composed of seafarers, their wives, families, supporters, fishermen, and members of academe, remains an underrepresented sector in the Philippine society. In spite of our great number, it’s very frustrating that we do not even have a say in enactment of laws pertaining to shipping and seafaring, much less lift a finger in opposition whenever our political leaders plunders and misused OWWA funds, of which the main bulk of contributions came from the seafarers.

Last June 24, 2011, the Association of Marine Officers and Ratings (AMOR), a group of about 2,000-member strong concerned seafarers, initiated a grand move to unify the entire maritime industry and create a common organization that can represent the industry in reviewing regulations (both existing and in process of legislation) that may be unfavorable to shipping and seafaring. The creation of such organization may also pave the way for the participation of the maritime sector in the next 2013 party list election.

The group set the deadline for submission of candidates for selection and election committee and party list nominees on 15 August 2011.

To those who see the call for unity as politically motivated and perceived the event as a political ambition by a minority group to gain fame and power at the expense of the maritime community, we challenge you to participate and be involved. Stop being a fence-sitter. Submit your resume and application to AMOR secretariat and if you think you’re capable enough and have the guts to lead the maritime sector, you’ll be one of the party’s nominees.

++ END ++

WHO REALLY OWNS THE SPRATLY ISLANDS ?

2011-06-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

By: Capt. Alvils

Owing to its close proximity to the island of Palawan, there is no doubt that we definitely own the Spratlys, regardless of other nations claim that their history books says we do not.

The fact is, before World War II, nobody really owns the Spratly Islands. If the Chinese and Vietnamese would insist that it was their ancestors who discovered the Spratlys and therefore owns the area, we might as well accept that the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan or the colonizing Spaniards is the real owner of the Philippines.

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 650 reefs, islets, atoll, cays and islands in the South China Sea between the Philippines and Vietnam. However, a quick glance at its exact location in the world map (see inset) would show that it is much closer to the southern tip of Palawan Island than the coast of Vietnam or any other countries claiming ownership.

The Islands comprise less than five square kilometers of land area, spread over more than 400,000 square kilometers of sea. It is also part of the three archipelagos of the South China Sea, comprising more than 30,000 islands and reefs and which so complicates geography, governance and economics in that region of Southeast Asia. Such small and remote islands have little economic in themselves, but are important in establishing international boundaries. There are no native islanders but there are rich fishing grounds and initial surveys indicate the islands may contain rich deposits of oil and gas. The discovery of a huge oil and gas deposits in Camago-Malampaya oil field, in northwest coast of Palawan, located a few hundred nautical miles from Spratly Islands, provides little doubt that the natural deposits from both locations may be linked at the bottom of the sea.

The Spratly Islands is being disputed by China, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei and Vietnam. 45 of its islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from the disputing nations. Brunei has established a fishing Zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim.

Among all the nations disputing ownership of the Spratlys, China is the most powerful. Lately, they have been bullying all other claimant nation, especially the Philippines. Aside from their navy’s frequent excursion in the disputed islands, they warned the Americans not to get involved with the dispute, erected permanent structures in the area, intimidated our survey vessels and fired shots at Filipino fishing boats. They also cautioned our political leaders to keep their distance from the Spratlys; saying that visiting any of its islands would be tantamount to encroaching.

Of course, ownership of the Spratly Islands, which has been ignored for centuries, was only contested when the prospect of huge gas and oil deposits was revealed. But if we made our claim on the Spratlys long before the discovery of Camago-Malampaya oil deposits, why are we now in the middle of an arm conflict with China? Let's go back in history to find out.

Sometime in 1946, Tomas Cloma, a naval admiral, owner of a fishing fleet, founder and then president of Philippine Maritime Institute (now known as PMI colleges), in one of his many sea escapades, stumbled upon a group of tiny reefs and atolls somewhere in South China Sea. The old map indicates that the vastly treacherous, unchartered and unsurveyed area is called “Spratly Islands”, named after Capt. Richard Spratly, a British captain of a whaler ship, who first discovered the low-laying reefs and sandy islets in 29 March 1849, and named it after himself and his brother and first officer, William Spratly.

Seeing the area totally deserted, and perhaps thinking that it must still be within the Philippine territory, Admiral Cloma quickly made his claim. His first intention was to annex the group of reefs and islets with the Philippine archipelago, then put up a fish cannery and develop “guano” (excrements of bats and sea gulls use as fertilizer and ingredients for gunpowder) deposits. But the Philippine government, perhaps still engrossed in rebuilding a devastated country while enjoying the post war festivities, was dragging its feet to support his claim. Everyone thought it was worthless and a waste of time. They cannot imagine why Cloma would be so interested with those dangerous shoals and scattered barren land, of volcanic origin, where a small twig wouldn’t even grow. Besides, majority of the islets becomes invisible during high tide.

On May 15, 1956, undeterred by the apathetic attitude of his government, Cloma subsequently proclaimed to the world the founding of new state, the “Freedom Land”, then established a protectorate with one of the islands as its capital, with himself as “Chairman of the Supreme Council of the State”.

Today, it carries the more Filipino name - “Kalayaan” group of islands, with the islet of “pag-asa” as its capital. The Philippine government is now asserting its rights to sovereignty on the basis of Cloma’s claim. But, had the government of Manuel Roxas (1946-48), Elpidio Quirino (1948-53) or even Ramon Magsaysay (1953-57) supported Tomas Cloma’s claim, none of this territorial dispute would be happening today. In 1946, the Philippines, riding on the victory of the Americans in the Second World War, was considered more powerful than any of its similarly war-torn Asian neighbors. Any annexation of newly discovered land, especially those relinquished by the defeated Japanese, would have given us a strong foothold on the Spratlys and any question of its ownership today would be moot and academic.

The basis of each country’s claim:

Brunei's Claim

Brunei’s claims to the reefs are based on the “Law of the Sea”. It states that the southern part of the Spratly chain of islands is actually a part of its continental shelf and therefore a part of its territory and resources.

Malaysia has militarily occupied three islands that it considers to be within its continental shelf. They tried to build up one atoll by bringing in soil from the mainland and have built a hotel in the area. Some countries believe that Malaysia claim was inappropriate considering it was only made in 1979.

However, Sabah, a state of Malaysia, is being claimed by the Philippines under legal and historical bases. So if the Philippines reclaimed Sabah, by default, Malaysia's claims to the Spratly Islands will be declared null, and it will be given to the Philippines, because Malaysia designated its claims to the Spratly Islands as a part of Sabah.

People's Republic Of China Claim

The People's Republic of China claimed that all of Spratly Islands are part of China and have had a historical naval presence on and off, from 1932 to 1935. China continued to include the territory in their administrative area through the Map Compilation Committee. After the Second World War, China reclaimed sovereignty over the islands through post World War II arrangements based on various treaties of the "Allied Powers" and China built a hoar-stone on the island. In 1947, the government renamed 159 islands in the area.

They base their claim on the belief that the islands have been an integral part of China for nearly two thousand years and that neighboring countries and European Powers took advantage of China's poor condition and diversity to impinge on its sovereignty.

China claims to have discovered the islands in the "Han Dynasty" in 2 BC. The islands were claimed to have been marked on maps compiled during the time of "Eastern Han Dynasty" and “Eastern Wu" (one of the three kingdoms). In archaeological surveys the remains of Chinese pottery and coins have been found in the islands and are cited as proof for the PRC claim.

China have had been severely criticized for their unfounded claims. It has been made known that historically, simply surveying an area without establishing a civilization there or a military garrison does not hold much the same political weight as staking an official claim. However, China’s claim to the Spratlys is mostly grounded in the simple philosophy that since they were there first they rightly have sovereignty. However, many of these claims to sovereignty came directly from their fantasy books, which also describe foreign lands and fantastical creatures such as mermaids, bringing the validity of the source into question. There is also doubt as to whether these sources state a claim of sovereignty or simply mention the Spratlys alongside other foreign lands.

Republic Of China (Taiwan) Claim

The Republic of China (ROC), which ruled mainland China before 1949 and has been confined to the island of Taiwan since 1949, also claims all of the Spratly Islands. They insist that they have the right to claim the Spratlys as much as the People's Republic of China. Taiwan occupies Itu Aba, the largest island.

Vietnam's Claim

Vietnam's response to China's claim is that Chinese records are in fact records about non-Chinese territories. Vietnam's view is that the Chinese records do not constitute the declaration and exercise of sovereignty and that China did not declare sovereignty over the Spratlys until after World War II.

Vietnamese geographical maps record refers to Spratly Islands as Vietnamese territory as early as the 17th century. They were defined as belonging to Quảng Ngãi District, mentioned in Dai Nam Unified Map, an atlas of Vietnam completed in 1838. It was shown as Vietnamese territory. Vietnam had conducted many geographical and resource surveys of the islands. The results of these surveys have been recorded in Vietnamese literature and history published since the 17th century.

The Cairo Declaration, drafted by the Allies and China towards the end of World War II, listed the territories that the Allies intended to strip from Japan and return to China. The text of the San Francisco treaty listed the Spratlys as not part of the list of territories to be returned to China.

The Philippines Claim

While the Philippines' claim to the Spratly Islands was first expressed in the United Nations General Assembly in 1946, Philippine involvement in the Spratlys did not begin in earnest until 1956, when Cloma proclaimed the founding of a new state, Kalayaan (Freedom Land).

The text of the San Francisco treaty stated that Japan had to give up any claim of sovereignty over the Spratlys but did not specify the country to which the Spratlys would go. Tomas Cloma and the present day government's view is that this made the Spratlys Res nullius (meaning- nobody's thing).

Res nullius is a Latin term derived from Roman law whereby res (objects in the legal sense, anything that can be owned, even slaves, but not subjects in law such as citizens) are not yet the object of rights of any specific subject. Such items are considered ownerless property and are usually free to be owned. Since a thing completely lost or abandoned is res nullius, it therefore belongs to the first taker.

The Philippines had troops posted on three islands by 1968 on the premise of protecting Kalayaan citizens. In early 1971 the Philippines sent a diplomatic note on behalf of Cloma to Taipei demanding the ROC's withdrawal from Itu Aba and on 10 July in the same year Ferdinand Marcos announced the annexation of the 53 island group known as Kalayaan, although since neither Cloma or Marcos specified which fifty three features constituted Kalayaan, the Philippines began to claim as many features as possible. In April 1972 Kalayaan was officially incorporated into Palawan province and was administered as a single “poblacion” (township), with Tomas Cloma as the town council Chairman. The Philippines also reportedly attempted to land troops on Itu Aba in 1977 to occupy the island but were repelled by ROC troops stationed on the island.

A second argument used by the Philippines regarding their geographical claim over the Spratlys is that all the islands claimed by the Philippines lie within their archipelagic baselines, the only claimant who can make such a statement. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) stated that a coastal state could claim two hundred nautical miles of jurisdiction beyond its land boundaries. It is perhaps telling that while the Philippines is a signatory to UNCLOS, the PRC and Vietnam are not. The Philippines also argue, under "Law of the Sea" provisions, PRC cannot extend its baseline claims to the Spratlys because the PRC is not an archipelagic state. Whether this argument (or any other used by the Philippines) would hold up in court is debatable but possibly moot, as the PRC and Vietnam seem unwilling to legally substantiate their claims and have rejected Philippine challenges to take the dispute to the World Maritime Tribunal in Hamburg.

Unfortunately, our lawmakers are starting to back out from the fight for possession and right to sovereignty to the Spratlys, saying that it is better to use diplomatic approach in settling the dispute. They said we cannot sustain an arm conflict in the event our Asian neighbors decide to forcibly occupy the whole of Spratly Islands for themselves.

Foreign critics say Filipinos are one of the most un-nationalistic, un-patriotic people in the world. While other nationals would risk their lives to protect their country by repelling trespassers, poachers and foreign evaders, we Filipinos just sit down and watch foreigners ridicule, abuse, steal our lands, pilfer our natural resources, insult and take advantage of us even in our own back yard.

I don’t know about you readers, but I beg to disagree. If any of them try to invade the spratlys, I would hire a "banca", travel to the "kalayaan" group of islands and drive them all out with my 38 cal. pistol. I might die trying, but at least I can live with my conscience whenever I sing, “aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi, ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo”.

--- END ---

DOUBLE PROSPERITY - BELIEVE IT OR NOT

2011-05-30T01:20:00.000-07:00

By: Capt. Alvils

This particular incident in shipping will go down in Ripley's "Believe or not" list, if not in history, as the most weird maritime accident in the history of modern day navigation - a grounding caused by a championship boxing match.

In the late hours of the morning, May 8, 2011, while the entire nation was busy cheering for a congressman-elect, south paw boxer fighting a “catch me if you can” match with a scampering opponent, “Double Prosperity”, a 39,727 Grt bulk carrier, loaded with about 66,000 metric tons of coal, rammed the protected seascape of “bakud reef”, 2.5 miles off the town of Kiamba, in Sarangani. As of this writing, more than half of her entire bottom remains stuck at one portion of the reef. Extricating may not be possible unless they lighten up the vessel with her coal cargoes.

In addition to the irreversible damage to about 4 hectares of coral reefs, officials of Sarangani province fears the resulting oil spills might also cause

harm to fishes and aquatic life. The government placed the value of the damage to about P42 million, enough money to purchase a new handy size bulker (Double Prosperity is a panamax size bulk carrier).

The young master, with a sarcastic smile on his face, blamed human error in navigation that led to the accident. Adding that, "there is also mitigating factor like strong current that affected my vessel. We were pushed by a strong current".

He said it with ease and confidence as if what happened was just a simple traffic accident, e.g. miscalculation on a turn, bad brakes, slippery road, etc. If I were only around when he made that statement, I would have slap him at the back of his head for thinking that all his listeners are ignorant and dim-witted like him.

I find it absurd that aside from navigational error, he’s also blaming the strong current as one factor for the grounding of his vessel. The flow of current usually follows the curvature of the coast and not push the vessel closer to shore, unless the vessel is sailing along the mouth of a river or bay where current is influence by tidal streams. There is a counter flow along the coast but this is usually a reversed direction from the main flow of current. The town of Kiamba is located in a solid mass of land south of Mindanao. Therefore, the only phenomenon that can wash her ashore is a “tsunami”.

The confused 3^rd Mate (I wouldn’t be surprised if he is just newly-promoted) took all the blame when he admitted that he did not notice the shallow area of bakud reef that caused the vessel to run aground. He probably thought that by his own admission of fault, he could still save the grim fate of his Captain.

Their incredible stories about strong current and failure to notice the reefs are all shallow alibis to hide the real fact that either no one was on lookout or nobody was attending to the navigation at the time of grounding. The normal practice onboard is to take vessel’s fix position and plot it on the chart at an interval of 30 minutes (some masters prefers every 15 minutes in confined waters). If this was done religiously from the time they departed Australia until they made landfall on the island of Mindanao, the chain and trend of “fixes” alone will provide indication that the vessel is heading or drifting towards the reef. Hence, if they sense nothing wrong with the positions, they must have drawn a course line to pass with a very small clearance to the cluster of corals.

For somebody who do not understand the system and protocol on the bridge during navigation, the 3^rd officer, who is usually doing the 8–12 (08:00 am–12 noon, 08:00 pm–12 midnight) sea watch, will appear to be the lone culprit. But this is not the case in bridge organization. The master, owing to the doctrine of “command responsibility”, is held accountable for the accident regardless of whoever is cunning the vessel.

For a ship to run aground under the hot morning sun, in calm seas, clear weather and enough sea room to maneuver is simply mind boggling. She hit the bottom on her starboard side; to her port was the vast open water of Mindanao Sea. Likewise, the master cannot claim that his venturing close to the coast was unintentional. He couldn't have miss it at all. In fact, I am pretty sure everyone onboard may have been overwhelmed by the scenery of the coast. At a distance of 2.5 miles from shore, one can already see the seas breaking unto the rocks, smell the mosses of vegetation and watch the Sarangani monkeys swinging on top of the trees. This scene can be frightening for a novice 3^rd mate, but amusing for an experienced, extremely confident navigator like the Captain.

Notwithstanding the grounding incident, the main issue here is not navigating close to shore but the lack of concern over the safety of the ship and her crew. In fact, if I was the master onboard, I would have done the same just to watch Pacquiao’s fight. It is a rare opportunity that I wouldn't want to miss. But my goodness, not when there’s dangerous reefs around the vicinity. It is stupidity in the highest form to jeopardize the safety of the vessel for the sake of a clear TV reception.

Onboard the ship, on the bridge, a navigator uses different method to spot and avoid shallow patches, shoals or reefs. Taking compass bearings or distances from shore by radar (this size of vessel may have at least 2 radars and perhaps an ECDIS) can provide the vessel’s position and determine with accuracy the location of an underwater obstruction. Even without these navigational aids, the trained, keen eye of the lookout, with a good binocular, can easily recognize the conspicuous discoloration of water (see inset photo) far ahead and long before reaching the area of danger. Once visually detected, even at close range, there is always time to take evading action towards the safe side. Therefore, if they altered the course close to the coast and nobody notices the reefs, I can only surmise that the bridge was deserted at the time of grounding. They set the steering to autopilot and everyone went down the recreation room to watch the fight, including the master. Of course, we will never know the truth unless somebody among the crew squeals.

No maritime investigator will believe the master even if he insists that it was solely the decision of the 3^rd officer to change course heading towards the reefs. A neophyte navigating officer does not have the guts to plot a course line on his own passing very close to a dangerous coral ridge. Even if what the master’s saying is true, he should have been present on the bridge when passing through the treacherous area of the coast to check the progress of navigation and confirm if the established passage planning is being followed.

I am sure the owner is infuriated by this accident. Damage and penalty claims will rise to millions of dollars, the vessel have had been detained, trading documents suspended, and the charterer may have “off hired” the ship for the delay. They have nobody to blame except the master who took the risk of disregarding their Safety Management System (SMS), particularly in maintaining a safe passing distance from any charted shoals and shallow portion of the coast. Considering the size of Double Prosperity, her deep draft and the presence of bakud reef, the safe passing distance should be at least 6-7 miles from the coast. By now, they must already be re-organizing their company and reviewing their safety navigation policy. Worse, they might also be shopping for a new manning agency to man their vessels.

The master is definitely in deep trouble. Aside from losing his job, he might also be facing not only sanction, suspension but also revocation of his license. It will probably take time before somebody takes the risk of giving him another command. He might as well approach Pacquiao for financial assistance.

Considering the numerous accidents and grounding that occurred in the same area in the past, if the Sarangani provincial government is really determine to protect the seascape of bakud reef and other marine sanctuary of their coast, it is not enough to just resort to imposing fines to deter offenders. They need to install a buoy, equipped with radar reflectors, to the southern end of bakud reef or mark it with an unlighted (lighted is not recommended as fishermen might only steal the batteries) structure, also with radar reflectors, to guide and warn passing by ships of the danger.

ERRATUM

According to latest report, the crew of MV Double Prosperity admitted that the captain permitted the ship to go near the shore despite knowledge that Bacud Reef exists in their navigational map, in order to get cell phone signals. The report also revealed that the captain was intoxicated at the time of accident. This made the negligence and offense more serious But I really doubt if the cell phone signal was the only reason for their venturing close to the coast. The grounding occurred before noon of May 8, 2011, the start of TV telecast of Pacquiao - Mosley fight.

+++ END +++

THE PRIME VERTICAL OF LIFE

2011-05-02T03:19:00.000-07:00

BY: Capt. Alvils

Celestial Sphere, in astronomy, is an imaginary sphere of infinitely large radius, where the center is the Earth; enclosing the universe so that the sun, moon, stars, and all celestial objects appears to be projected.

Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a basketball court where the entire stadium

is enveloped inside a huge circular dome, or in much wider spectrum, stand on an open field and consider the vast sky that appears to meet with the horizon all around you as a gigantic dome covering the entire planet. This dome is the sphere that appears to rotate around the Earth carrying with it all the celestial bodies.

In this fictitious construction of the celestial sphere, at any one time, we see no more than half of this sphere, the other half being on the other side of Earth is invisible to the observer.

Inside this sphere are numerous vertical circles that composed the various system of celestial coordinates. Zenith (Z) is that point directly overhead the observer, while Nadir (Na), the point opposite to the Zenith, is directly below. To a celestial navigator, Zenith has more significance than Nadir because the former can be imagined to be visible to the observer's eyes; whereas the latter, being located on the other half of the earth's sphere, below the observer, is presumed to be obscured from view. But what makes Nadir unique is that without it the limit of circumference of the celestial sphere and the radius of different imaginary vertical circles cannot be formed.

Prime Vertical is one vertical circle that lies at right angles to the meridian, and passes through the East point, Zenith, West point and Nadir of any place.

On the other hand, Meridian, or the Primary Vertical circle, is another imaginary great circle that our sun, planets, stars, and other heavenly bodies follows as they travel on their path above and below us, ascending first from the East point of the horizon, climbing to its highest peak, before descending to the West point of the horizon, then repeating the same process on the other side of the globe to complete the daily cycle of Ante Meridiem (a.m.) and Post Meridiem (p.m.).

Among all the heavenly bodies in the universe, the sun, the lone star nearest to our planet and the center of our solar system, owing to its gigantic size and brilliance, is the best reference used for celestial navigation. It is when this colossal astronomical object is at its greatest altitude that a Meridian Transit (or Meridian Passage) occurs. This means the sun has reached the Zenith, cut across the prime vertical circle at right angle, suspend in its summit for a few seconds, before making its slow descend to westerly direction. For a celestial navigator, meridian transit is the most important event of the day. When the sky is overcast, and observation of meridian passage is not possible, the noon position is oftentimes lost. With the use of instruments, nautical publications and various methods of mathematical solutions, this astronomical episode can determine the vessel's coordinates (position) on the surface of the earth. To explain further how this is done will be too complicated for the simple reader.

So much of that lesson in celestial navigation and let us discuss the relevance of this article to our lives. I have always compared Prime Vertical to the cycle of life on earth. We too follow the same path similar to the passage of the sun and other celestial bodies above us. During the early morning twilight (period between darkness and sun light) our first sign of life occurs, analogous to the time of our conception. By the break of dawn, we are born and introduced into this world by our mothers. During our formative years, as we start to recognize and identify people, learn to walk, talk and ascertain new things, we appear and struggle to gain altitude from the easterly horizon. As we expand our knowledge, sharpen our skills and start building a career, our altitude increases further. If we focus, toil and concentrate enough along this path, we continue to travel upward until we reach the top, the summit of our career. Then, like the sun suspending on its zenith, along the vertex of the prime vertical circle, we sometimes remain at the top for an indefinite period of time. This is the point where we become a dominant figure in the industry we belong, enjoying the wealth, power and fame that our social and professional standing brings; receiving attractive, handsome job offers from different people and entities impressed by our achievements, the skills we displayed, particularly in our specific field of expertise. Everyone seems to want us. Ironically, instead of them reviewing our credentials, character and background, we are the one being too cautious to accept the offer. We examine their profile, the credibility of people behind their business, sincerity of their offer, lest we make the mistake of transferring from the frying pan to the fire. Unfortunately, we tend to disregard the negative aspects of things and just opt for the highest bidder.

As we savor and relish the plentiful harvest of our success, the envious "crabs", the pests of human society, emerged from all directions around us, determine to pull us down. Some see us as sweet, ripe fruit hanging from the top of a tree. Many will attempt to climb the tree to pick us. However, good men are not easy to put down. Armed with a solid foundation, integrity, vast experience and wisdom that we acquired over the years, we parry their traitor blows and frustrate our detractors. But, as what they all said, nothing last forever. In life, nothing is permanent except changes. We cannot always be on top. Like the sun traveling along the celestial sphere, once we reached the Zenith, the only way is down towards the Nadir; akin to life's vicious cycle of "ups" and "downs". Always be wary and ready to cushion the impact of the fall. The faster and higher we go up, the stronger and harder we fall. If we're unfortunate enough to lose our luxurious position and all of our worldly possession, the "crab" people that has relentless worked so hard to see us fall, close associates who pretend to be our friend, and most of our enemies will celebrate and rejoice with our misfortune. Our supposedly loyal friends, who once vowed to die for us, are nowhere in sight, and the only true people where we can draw strength are the members of our own family. They will never abandon us and will in fact provide us the support we need to overcome and survive the storm of our life.

Some of us are born with a silver spoon in the mouth. Meaning - their parents are rich. Others came into this world in rags, already living in extreme poverty, but became rich and famous out of sheer luck or hard work. Nonetheless, regardless of our standing and status in life, we all suffers failures and downfalls albeit in varying degrees. The most hurting experience of all are those "downfalls" not related to material things. This is God's painful way of teaching us the lessons and true essence of life; a strong signal to mankind that we cannot have everything we want in life.

As our sun completes its meridian passage and starts its slow descend westward, we start to age and become less marketable. By late afternoon, our altitude continues to diminish further. There are fewer options, lesser opportunities and job offers and if there is, compensation is usually according to age. Then, as we draw closer to the westerly horizon, we retire from all kinds of physical activities and join the ranks of "septuagenarians". This is the time when your entire joints aches, when everything hurts and what doesn't hurt doesn't work. This is also the time for reflection, reminiscing the happy moments and sweet memories of the past, looking at the memorabilia of our life's achievements and enjoying the fruits of our toils, if there's any.

At sundown, as we dip below the horizon, we're nearing our end. We watch in silence as the history of our life flash before our very eyes. Death, for the first time, became a reality. We realize we cannot live forever but start to wonder whether we created and done something that will.

As darkness sets in, right after the evening twilight (period between sunset and darkness), we gasped for our last breath, closed down the blinds and make our grand exit in life. If, in our passing away people finds relief instead of grief, their memories will be short and we would soon be forgotten. The epitaph on top of the earth mount from where we lay will gather mosses and weeds thick enough to erase any sign that we ever existed on earth. But, if we gained enough friends than enemies and made a great number of people, including our own family, happy during our lifetime, we will be considered a great loss to mankind and forever be revered by them. Green grass and fragrant flowers will blossom on the prairie where they laid our marbled tombstone. There would even be mixed opinion on what scriptures to write on our epitaph that could best describe how well we live our life on earth. Equally rewarding is the fact that what we've done and the legacy that we left behind will long be remembered.

In one article that I read, the author wrote about the following secrets for living and dying well:

1) Be true to yourself 2) Leave no regrets 3) Love and be loved 4) Learn to forgive 5) Live the moments 6) Give more than you take 7) Do one good deed a day.

Unfortunately, the author admitted that it was easier said than done.

So, what really matters is not how we died but how we live. Life has always been temporary and transitory. We only live once and no matter what we do, we cannot get out of life alive. Once we face our creator on judgement day, the first thing he would ask is how we spend the life that we borrowed from him. Whether we carried our cross well or let others carried it for us. Whether we felt the pains and sufferings or cause others to pain and suffer. We should be ready to provide a positive answer by then. Otherwise, we end up roasting in an eternity of burning sulphur.

Here's a wise quotation from a well known "quaker":

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being, let me do it now. Let me not deter nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again". - Stephen Grellet-

++ END ++

THE LEGACY OF "ENGOT"

2011-03-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

By: Capt. Alvils

In life we all have an unspeakable secret, an irreversible regret, an unreachable dream and an unforgettable love. ~ Diego Marchi

This is the story of my elder brother, Emilio Jr., who went though extreme pain and difficulties in life. He valued friendship and his friends so much that he is often conned and taken advantage of by them. He never wish for wealth or fame but just a simple and happy living. But his countless mistakes, wrong decisions and indecisions made his life miserable and complicated. He dreamt of a perfect family but instead found it broken and divided. He hungered for love from his children but was instead scorned and despised by them.

We all call him “Jun”, but he is humorously known by his close friends and associates as “Engot” because of his poor hearing and low intellectual capability. Yet, he surprises everyone, especially those who ridiculed and made fun of him, by excelling in most area of human competition, except, perhaps, the field of academics.

He was the eldest boy among a brood of 9 and my father, a ship captain, immediately christened him as his “junior”. As a mischievous youngster, his favorite toy was a clothes iron which he hangs from the ceiling and swings it like a pendulum. One day, he got hit by the sharp, pointed edge of the iron. It pierced and penetrated his temple and had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment.

“Perhaps, this explains why he is so intellectually poor”, joked my mother.

Indeed, he is so dull in class that it took him 7 years to finish his 6-years elementary schooling. It could have been 8 years had my mother not pleaded the school principal for sympathy because the family is relocating to Manila.

Yet, there was something unusual about him. Dim-witted as he may be, he seems to excel on almost anything that his hands could lay on. In his adolescent years, he became curios with the piano instrument. He watched intensely as his two sisters took turns in taking piano lessons from a tutor. When no one is around, he would open the piano cover board and start fiddling with the keys; this arouses the ire of the two sisters who are afraid he might break the instrument. But before anyone knew it, he was already playing the piano better than the two girls. Finally, without formal lesson or learning the musical chords, he could already play any tune by just listening to the music.

I was about 9 or 10 years old when he first treated me to a snack at “Chick and Egg”, a small restaurant located along the Bonifacio Monument circle (the site is now crowded with shopping malls). There he saw an unoccupied piano and asked the owner if he could play with the instrument. The owner agreed and as he began tickling the keyboard, playing to the rhythm of fast boogie and cha-cha music, curious onlookers started gathering at the door entrance obviously enjoying the live performance. By the time he finished his short concert, the whole restaurant was occupied with guests.

The owner approached our table and asked: “Can you come to this place every night? I’ll give you free drinks and meals”

“Can I bring my small brother along?” Jun asked.

“Of course”, said the owner.

From then on, after school, he would take me to this eatery for free snacks. He amused the crowd with his musical prowess while I ingest my sandwich, ice cream soda and fruit juices.

I never did bother to find out how good he was with the piano. But one piano enthusiast watching him play his repertoire on both modern classical and jazz music said he was very entertaining.

Business was never that good for “Chick and Egg” restaurant after that.

In his early years, Jun also developed a keen interest in playing basketball. He became so good with the sport that Manila Central University (MCU) of Caloocan City took him in as scholar despite his poor elementary school standing. He played together with Zaldy schornack, an excellent ball handler, who eventually became a movie star.

I was 13 years old, a high school freshman, when he first took me to Rizal Memorial stadium to watch their game against National University (NU) bulldogs. He played shrewd and superb basketball. He dribbled the ball so fast and was very accurate with his textbook “jump shots” that the opponent (NU quintet) runs in frantic every time he holds the ball. That time there was still no ruling against “illegal screening” (illegal pick). Sensing that Jun was lucky with his shots that day, the MCU coach gave instructions to center the play on him. The remaining 4 members of his squad took turns in giving him the “screen”. He scored 45 points to convincingly beat the NU team. While MCU never won any UAAP championship, that game was their finest hour in basketball.

Perhaps, his greatest achievement in life was when he won the university’s declamation contest. Despite having poor grades, his teachers and professors chose him to represent the graduating class because of his ability to act and memorize verses of poem.

I could never forget his oratorical piece: William Shakespeare’s - “The Defense of Brutus”. Day and night he practice with the speech, always shrieking and shouting on top of his voice, sometimes fluctuating into falsetto, every time he reached the part: “As he was valiant, I honor him, but, as he was ambitious, I slew him”…

Everyone in the house was complaining about the noise. Mother has to repeatedly remind him to lower down his voice so others may sleep. I, myself, was not bothered by his racket. But I really find his speech very awkward and was pretty sure people would find it unworthy of listening.

On the day of the contest, I and my classmates were seated at the front row of the auditorium. It was the assigned seats for freshman and sophomore students. I saw brother Jun arguing with his mentors. Later, I would learned that he forget to bring his costume. It was the white robe, long toga and the wreath of laurel leaves crown that I saw laying on the sofa prior to my leaving the house. They prohibited him from returning home lest his number might soon come up.

“Now he really doesn’t stand a chance. He will only embarrass me”, I said to myself.

Most of the participants were fantastic with their performances and medieval age costumes. In the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Juliet appeared from a make-shift balcony and started searching for Romeo. She wore a loose white gown, with cap of criss-crossed pearls, long, wide sleeves with low girdle about the hips and wreaths of flowers crowning her flowing hair. She was simply gorgeous and beautiful with her outfit.

“Oh Romeo, my Romeo, where art thou Oh Romeo”, Juliet uttered with a soft, angelic voice.

The audience applauded Romeo, who looks like a real prince, as he appeared from nowhere. He was wearing a long-sleeves white shirt with puffy decorations on the shoulder, cap with long feathers trailing over his shoulder, matched with blue tights, velvet pointed shoes and a small saber tucked under his belt. The duo received a standing ovation from the crowd right after their performance.

Next was a guy mimicking the handsome and macho Marc Antony. He was wearing a long tunic in two shades of brown with gold printing, wine colored cape, brown leather belt and shining body armor, partly showing his muscular chest.

“Friends, Romans and countrymen. Lend me your ears...” People cheered as he begins his opening oratorical speech on the supposedly funeral of Julius Caesar.

Then, it was time for my brother Jun to climb the platform. There was an eerie silence as he steps on the concrete stairs. He was in civilian clothes. As he walks towards the center of the stage, I thought I heard somebody “booed” from the audience. As he begin his opening oration- “Romans, countrymen and lovers. Hear me for my cause and be silent…” I closed my eyes and covered my ears, not wanting to hear from him any further. The guy sitting beside me was puzzled by my reaction.

It must have been an eternity of time before he finally ended his declamation speech. I heard clapping of hands but not as loud as for the other contestants. I felt uneasy waiting for the result of the contest. As the emcee announce the consolation, third and second place (unusually, the pair of Romeo and Juliet, whom I thought would take home the trophy, won second price), I stand up, grab the arms of my classmates, and we all started making our way towards the auditorium exit. Half-way to the gate, as the first place was announced; I noticed my classmates and some of my teachers jumping with joy. They congratulated me; others embraced me, some pat my shoulder and shook my hands. They were cheering in unison, “Your brother won! Your brother won! The Alviolas are really great”. I turned my head around and in disbelief saw brother Jun receiving the gold medal and the first prize trophy.

Today, every time I recall that event, I am still bothered by guilt knowing that none of us morally supported him in his quest for supremacy in that prestigious competition. While other people believe in him and what he can achieve, his own family did not.

After graduating from High school, he took up nautical course at the prodding of my father. After failing most of his navigation subjects, father opined that schooling is not for him and decided instead to send him onboard the ship as engine mechanic. In those days, you need not be a marine engineering graduate to be an engineer. He became a 4^th engineer after serving several years as mechanic. Indeed, it was again his ability to excel on anything his hands could lay on that prevailed.

But, as successful as he was in most of his undertakings, Jun was never lucky in the affairs of his heart. It was during the period when he seems to be climbing the ladder of success that he met “Adoring”, a lovely, respectable woman who live next door to our house. He fell in love with her and after several months of courtship a romance between the two blossomed. But their relationship was short-lived. Jun was despised by Adoring’s father. The old-fashioned old man disapproved of their relationship. He hated the idea that his daughter may soon be marrying a seaman, a profession that was then notorious for having “a girl in every port”. Obedience to her parents, Adoring ended their relationship.

Jun was broken-hearted. But being still young and aggressive, he was able to overcome the grief and concentrated instead in building his career as marine engineer. He applied for job abroad and was readily hired by “Egon Oldendorf”, a shipping company based in Hamburg, West Germany. There he worked for several years learning the trick of the trade including the German language. On his return to the country he met “Susan”, a gorgeous, liberated woman who was also one of our boarders. She was at that time studying in Manila. Jun fell in love for the second time. After a brief period of courtship, Susan accepted his love proposal. Plans for a wedding were soon underway. But as Jun and our family was about to ask Susan’s parents for her hand in marriage, something went wrong. The wedding was called off. This time Jun was not only broken-hearted but also depressed and devastated. His whole life’s purpose flashed before his eyes in that one solitary moment. He attempted to end his own life by cutting his wrist. I woke up one morning and saw him laying in a pool of blood. He was immediately rushed to hospital. He would not have survived had Susan not visited him at the hospital and decided to proceed with the wedding.

The first few years of married life was perhaps Jun’s happiest moments. Susan gave birth to a daughter and a son. They were Christened Clarizze and Alvin. Several years later, Jun decided to relocate his family to Hamburg, West Germany. A decision that he will soon regret for the rest of his life.

In Hamburg, Susan met Arnim Joop, a West German national. The two became very close to each other. Some said they were having an affair. Jun was not only jealous but also felt betrayed. Despite Susan’s explanation that she and Arnim were just friends, Jun was unconvinced. A heated quarrel ensued resulting to Jun leaving Hamburg and abandoning his family. For Susan and the two kids, it was the hardest times of their lives ever. With nobody to support them and nobody to legitimate their stay in Germany, they live with the help of other people while waiting for the immigration officer to knock on their door and announce their deportation.

Arnim came to the rescue. He moved in with the family, supported them and eventually married Susan to prevent their expatriation. When Susan was asked by closed friends why she wedded Arnim when he was the root cause of her marital problems and the reason why her husband left Germany, She said: “Well, since it was Arnim who aided us in time of distress, and since my husband suspected me of having an affair with him, I might as well do it for real”. Indeed, it was just like correcting a mistake by making another mistake.

In retrospect, Jun was wrong in leaving his family. But it wasn’t entirely his fault.

Jun returned to the country and stop sailing for good. He joined the academe and taught engineering subjects. It was this time that he met “Brenda”, a separated lady who was then in-charge with the school’s canteen. Jun fell in love for the 3^rd time. He married Brenda and had a son which he named- “Hendie Philip Alviola”.

One day, while Jun was conducting classes, he collapsed and fell unconscious. The attending physician thought he was just exhausted. But further clinical tests showed that he’s suffering from a bone marrow disease. A type of cancer that has started to destroy the flexible tissues of his hip bone and vertebrae. It was causing his posture to bend down like an old man and body to shrink in height and in size. While he could still walk with the aid of steel braces, which he wore like a pant’s suspender, he was already in and out of the hospital. Soon, the dwindling funds could no longer sustain his regular therapy and medicines. Out of work, the financial support coming from his brothers and sisters were just not enough. As the cancer cell progresses, his body slowly deteriorated. During my last visit to the hospital, aware of the rising medical costs, Jun asked Brenda to take him to her hometown province in Dumaguete. He also requested me to look for Clarizze and Alvin. For me it was a premonition that I might not be able to see him again.

Through the internet, I searched desperately for his children but could not locate them. A month later, I received a phone call from Brenda. I have to come to Dumaguete, Jun is dying. He is already hallucinating, calling the names of his two children Clarizze and Alvin.

As I discussed plans with my brothers and sisters to travel to Dumaguete, there was another phone call from Brenda. Jun passed away.

I flew to Dumaguete city the next day. I travelled alone. Instead of spending money for airfare, my brothers and sisters opted to just donate their funds for the wake and burial. In Dumaguete city airport I was met by a local resident whom my younger brother, Arturo, requested to accompany me to the remote municipality of Siaton, Dumaguete, the town where Brenda resides. It was coming to dusk when we finally located the place. There I met Brenda, her old mother and the two kids (My nephew, Hendie, and another girl from her first relationship).The house was an old, nipa hut elevated from four corners by trunks of trees. The kind of weak structure that is leaning to one side and maybe just waiting for the next strong wind to collapse. Jun’s remains were place at a small area underneath the house, so narrow that there was barely enough room for a coffin. It was the last night of vigil. At about 07:00 pm, some neighbors started to appear. I wasn’t sure if they came for the wake or just curious to see me. Since there weren’t enough space inside the house, everyone sat outside. A group of evangelist (Jun was converted to Evangelism upon his return to the country) held a prayer services. A couple of hours later the place was deserted. Brenda went up to sleep with the kids while I was left alone sitting beside Jun’s coffin. Unfortunately, just after midnight, a power interruption occurred and the lights went out. I lighted several candles and place it on top of the coffin. Although terrified with the thought of seeing Jun’s spirit, I was determined to keep watch until morning. The following day, Jun was finally laid to rest in a simple catholic ceremony.

A month after Jun's internment, I finally located Clarizze’s e-mail address from her school’s website. When I sent a message telling her that her father passed away and that he was asking for her and Alvin before he died, she responded: “May he rest in peace”.

Clarizze went on to say: "You should not have tried to locate me because I don't want to be located".

I’ve known my niece, Clarizze, during her school days. Besides being attractive, she was also an intelligent, responsible and determine woman. She used to come and visit me at my office. While she never asks me for any favor, I try to give her some money for spending and assist her in any way I can. In fact, I have always felt that I was closer to her than her father or anyone else in our family. Among our family, I was the only one present at the airport when she departed for Canada. That was the last time I saw her.

I feel sad and disappointed that after all these years Clarizze has not forgiven her repentant father. In that single moment of his father’s mistake, she condemned him forever. Clarizze may have forgotten that she is compelled by her creator to accept whatever kind of father she has. God never gave us the freedom of choice to select who our parents should be. But one thing is certain, without a father she wouldn’t be born in this world to enjoy her children, her children’s children and the luxuries of living.

"Honor they father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD they God giveth thee." Exodus 20:12. The bible never said if your father is dumb, stupid and irresponsible; you may honor only your mother, not your father.

Despite his many talents, humility and generosity that every one of us admired, Jun was born mentally, emotionality and intellectually weak to confront the cruelty and complexities of life. Looking back at his many sufferings, failures, setbacks and disappointments, he must have found death more gratifying than life.

ERRATUM

Comments and reactions from readers, particularly those who have first-hand information about the incident, compelled me to rewrite some paragraphs of this blog. For those who said my article was partly incorrect, I stand to be corrected.

Here’s my revision of that painful event:

In Hamburg, West Germany, Susan met Arnim Joop, a German national and newspaper man who published articles about the escapades of Filipino “beach comers” (directly hired Filipino seafarers).They became very close to each other. There were rumors that the two were having an affair. Jun confronted Susan on why she is frequenting Arnim’s place. The latter explained that she is working part time for Arnim doing mostly house hold chores. But the former was unconvinced. Out of suspicion, Jun went on a short leave from his job as an engineer onboard a German flag ship and arrived home unannounced. Susan was not in the house. Jun went straight to Armin’s place and from a distance saw Susan in the apartment window wearing a negligee. Jun was not only jealous but also infuriated. When Susan answered the knock on the door, Jun dragged her out in the street. A violent quarrel ensued. Thereafter, Jun ordered Susan to get her belongings and vacate the house. He also requested the immigration bureau to deport Susan and the kids. Susan took the two kids, left the house and hid in a monastery to avoid deportation. For days they played hide and seek with immigration people, transferring from one place to another, seeking refuge from houses of friends and religious organization. Finally, the immigration officer caught up with them, hand-cuffed Susan and the two kids and brought them to the airport. In her memoirs, Susan described this event as the hardest times of their lives.

In Manila, the two kids continue with their schooling while Susan waited developments from Hamburg. Sometime later, Arnim arranged for Susan to come to Hamburg. There they got married and moved to Canada. Years later, Susan petitioned the two kids to Canada where they now live up to present time.

When Susan was asked by closed friends why she married Arnim when she has always maintain that they were just friends, besides the fact that her relationship with the latter was the primary cause of her marital problems, she said: “Arnim aided us in times of needs and since Jun suspected me of having an affair with him, I might as well substantiate his suspicion and do it for real”. Indeed, it was just like correcting a mistake by making another mistake.

Jun erred in his decision to include in the deportation order his children, Clarizze and Alvin. What he should have done was to get rid of Susan but kept the two kids with him in Hamburg. Then again, it is also doubtful if the two kids would agree on separating with their mother. But at least it would leave an impression to them that they were not totally abandoned by their father.

In retrospect, Jun made some poor judgments in handling his own family's affair. But it was not entirely his fault.

++++ END ++++

AMENDED MIGRANT WORKERS ACT – DETRIMENTAL TO OFWs

2010-12-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

By: Capt. Alvils

The Migrant Workers Act of 1995, or RA 8042, was recently amended incorporating, among others, the new regulations on compulsory insurance coverage for all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The proponents of Amended Migrant Workers Act, or AMWA RA 10022, said it aims to intensify protection of OFWs.

The compulsory insurance for agency-hired workers shall cover accidental death, natural death, permanent total disablement, repatriation costs, subsistence allowance benefit, money claims, compassionate visit, medical evaluation, and medical repatriation. This new rule is stipulated in the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Memorandum Circular no. 09, which took effect on 08 November 2010. Thus, in order to be issued an Overseas Employment Certificate, all OFWs (both land and sea-based) to be hired or deployed on or after this date must secure an insurance policy issued by either foreign entities providing indemnity cover to the vessel or from local insurance companies duly licensed and certified/ authorized by the Philippine Insurance Commission to underwrite insurance policies for overseas Filipino workers.

A prerequisite for this rule is the issuance of Certificate of Cover (COC) from either international or local insurance companies. Among the local insurance firms already accredited by the commission are: Paramount Life & General Insurance Corporation, Philippine Charter Insurance Corporation and United Coconut Planters’ Life Assurance Corporation. Premiums are US$56.50 for six months and US$100.00 for one year. Aware of the huge market to be covered, insurance companies still not certified by the commission are now in a mad scramble to meet all requirements for accreditation. Everyone seems in a hurry to partake a portion of the cake. The common joke in the recruitment industry is that perhaps the law makers, particularly the proponents of AMWA, are involved in the insurance business. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so eager to ratify laws increasing the revenue of these local underwriters.

Compared to the land-based sector where insurance coverage for OFWs is required prior to processing of POEA contracts, the manning industry appears to enjoy a relaxation of the rule considering POEA only requires foreign principals to present a COC detailing the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) coverage for each enrolled vessel. P&I Club (or the Club) is a non-profit organization covering third party liabilities and expenses arising from ship owning and ship managing as principal. However, although the POEA has indicated that the COCs are an acceptable means of evidencing compliance with the compulsory insurance provisions, the Club cautioned its members not to commit themselves too much to the COCs as the Club does not extend to all of the “minimum” compulsory insurance requirements of the AMWA nor does it provide cover directly to seafarers.

For instance, while the club covers both accidental and natural deaths, permanent disabilities and medical evacuations/repatriations, it either partially or does not cover at all normal repatriation costs (especially those terminated for cause), subsistence allowance benefits (limited to medical cases), money claims and compassionate visit. In these cases, it is up to the ship owner to pay the seafarers. Ship owners are now in a quandary about how to meet the requirements of AMWA without entailing additional costs. They need the Filipino seafarers but could not compel the Club to increase its insurance coverage. Eventually, they (ship owners) may be forced to suspend all wage increases or perhaps cut down on seniority and other bonuses just to cover the extra expense for insurance.

While DFA insist that the Amended Migrant Workers Act will benefit all OFWs, it will actually do the opposite and create an added burden for them. Who do they think will shoulder the premium for the additional insurance? Of course it is the workers themselves, not their employer nor the agency that deploys them.

The POEA has maintained that employers are mandated by law to pay for the insurance coverage of workers they hire. Meaning, it should be at no cost to the overseas worker. POEA administrator, Jennifer Jardin-Manalili, even warned recruiters they will face appropriate penalties if they pass on the insurance coverage fee to the workers they recruit, directly or indirectly.

However, most people remain skeptical about the would be effect of AMWA to the manning and recruitment industry. An expert in land-based recruitment business opined that if a Philippine recruiter, already collecting the legal one-month salary placement fee and remitting fees to foreign brokers for recruitment processing and overhead costs of US$ 300 plus, is made to pay the additional US$ 150-200 insurance, its recruitment business would collapse. Therefore, they will only be forced to circumvent the requirement and indirectly collect the insurance costs by jacking up placement and service fees collected from the recruits in order to survive. They cannot force employers to shoulder the additional insurance coverage either. Remember, the foreign employers are the ones providing jobs and the OFWs are their workers. When you're desperate for a job, you don't make demands to your employer. Otherwise, they will simply tell you to go and find employment elsewhere.

Of late, a group of Taiwanese employers are now threatening to stop hiring Filipino workers to protest the Philippine government's mandatory insurance regulation. They warned that if our government will insist on double insurance coverage for Filipino workers, they would cancel the 50,000 job orders for Filipino workers in 2011 and commence hiring Vietnamese and Indonesian workers. They said every contract workers in Taiwan is already covered by personal and group insurance with a total coverage equivalent to Php 1.2 million. This is definitely more superior to the US$ 15,000 coverage under the law for accidental death and US$ 10,000 for accidental death.

Employers and Filipino workers in Hongkong also expressed their opposition to the mandatory insurance coverage. The workers are worried that instead of protection they might even find themselves out of jobs.

The irony of it all is that if these Taiwanese and other foreign employers would indeed stop hiring Filipino OFWs, what can the Philippine government do? Can it provide alternative means of livelihood for hundreds of thousands of unemployed Filipino workers when the very reason why they're leaving their land of domicile is because they couldn't find work in this country? In fact, majority of OFWs, especially those with families living in extreme poverty, would sacrifice their own lives just to alleviate their deplorable conditions. One OFW commented: "Even if there's a travel ban to Iraq, I would find a way to enter that country through the back door and take the risk. I would die of hunger if I stay in this country anyway".

No way Jose! There is nothing this government can do except to plead to these foreign employers to reconsider their decision banning Filipino workers. Let's face it, our country and its working force is at the mercy of these foreign employers, not the other way around. In principle, we need them but they don't need us. We cannot even say that we're better than other foreign workers because there is NO monopoly of skilled laborers in this world. Perhaps, our only advantage with other nationals is our knowledge of the English language. But it doesn't matter much for a foreign employer. Given no choice, they will opt to hire foreign nationals other than Filipinos.

The association of recruiters and some NGOs concerned with the flight OFWs are urging our lawmakers, particularly the proponents of RA 10022, to revise, if not repel, AMWA before it creates havoc to the country's recruitment industry. Perhaps, they (lawmakers) forgot that our recruiters only act as agent for the employers. Hence, they shouldn't pass laws that cannot be implemented abroad, cause worldwide uproar or intimidate foreign principals.

On the other hand, do we really need to pass the burden of additional insurance to local recruiters and foreign employers? Can OWWA, which has raked in millions of pesos in OFW contributions and whose disbursement of funds has always been questionable, not shoulder these extra insurance premiums? The manning sector has been questioning the lack of transparency of OWWA when it comes to spending of its funds. While seafarers are required to pay contributions every time they depart, much of the OWWA funds are either misused by government officials, unwisely invested, finance projects unbeneficial to OFWs or aid distressed, stranded or molested OFWs who entered foreign countries illegally and didn't even contribute a single centavo to the OWWA fund.

But why is our government so deeply involved with the affairs of OFWs in the first place? Is there really a genuine concern for their welfare or they're just after the income generated from their contributions and processing fees? While most countries try to persuade their skilled and professional workers to help build their nation's economy, we encourage ours to leave the country and work overseas oftentimes creating a "brain drain". Correct me if I am wrong, but I think we are the only nation in this world whose government has institutionalized a labor export program and is doing everything within its power, even adopting new laws, just to streamline the system of labor exportation.

Ironically, our Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) even boasts of the expected increase in dollar remittances by our OFWs this month of December. Why are they so proud of this? Are they not bothered by the DSWD's findings that cases of incest, infidelity and broken families have increased because most mothers and fathers are leaving their households to work abroad? i.e. wives leaving their young daughters to their sexually-starved husbands and husband leaving their forlorn wives exposed human temptations. Infidelity is not only confine to those left behind. Some OFWs, after serving several years abroad, took in live-in partners to sustain the long period of sexual deprivation and the lengthy feeling of loneliness. Sad to say, the worst effect of working abroad is the losing of Filipino moral values.

But my goodness! Is exporting human labor really our major means of earning dollars? Our government should change its mindset in increasing the country's Gross National Product (GNP). It is wrong to consider exportation of labor and our working force as "product". Regulating the affairs of OFWs is not the answer to our ailing economy. The Philippines is one of the richest nations in Asia in terms of national resources. Unless we are able to harness, develop and make use of these natural resources, this country will never prosper and our people will continue to be exploited and forever be the slaves of our neighboring countries.

++ END ++

+++ END +++

MANILA BAY - A THREATENED NATIONAL HERITAGE

2010-01-25T06:49:00.000-08:00

By: Capt. Alvils

Half a century ago, people from all walks of life flock to the shore of what was then the Dewey Boulevard (now renamed Roxas Boulevard) to view the spectacular sunset of Manila Bay. It was, at that time, such a magnificent sight that mesmerized and inspires men with creative minds to write verses of poems and couples of all ages to feel romantic.

Today, the sun still set at Manila Bay, but the scenery at bay is no longer as captivating as before. The great estuary has now been transformed into the largest dumping site of the country. The stinking, eye-soaring garbage and debris floating along the coast simply discourage anyone to spend time sitting on the breakwater pavement to wait for the panorama of the sun descending upon the horizon.

Manila Bay is our national heritage, a silent witness to the millennia of Philippine history and the venue of many sea battles and human conflicts, dating from the era of Spanish galleons to modern, destructive warships, along with other historical events that helped shaped the Filipino culture and values. The Bay, the gateway to the country's capital of Manila, is a vital national asset that provides sources of food, livelihood and recreation to an estimated 92 million Filipinos.

The sustainability of the Bay and its diverse ecosystem is however continually threatened by a combination of land and sea-based human activities, which contribute to the decline in its environmental quality. illegal and destructive fishing, habitat destruction, pollution, siltation and uncontrolled development along the coast all contributed to pressures on the bay.

Despite the creation of several laws (P.D. 984, DAO 35, R.A. 6969, R.A.2003, P.D. 979) to protect and conserve Manila Bay pollution and destruction of marine environment remains unabated.

Two water concessionaires in Metro Manila owe the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) billions of pesos in fines for contributing to the pollution of Manila Bay due to their continued failure to put up waste water treatment plants. DENR imposed a daily fine of P200,000 on Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. for not complying with provisions in their contracts which require them to put up these facilities. Record showed that both companies have been violating these provisions for the past 12 years. DENR, on the other hand, has its own version of corruption and ineptness. It has consistently tolerated and provided favors to powerful politicians connected with the two concessionaires and allowed violations to persist for such a long time. The present DENR Secretary, Lito Atienza, is spearheading the campaign to penalize the culprits. As his term of office is co-terminus with the president, one would wonder why he waited up to the last moment before taking this kind of action. Whether he is really serious about protecting our marine environment or it is just one of his political gimmickry (He’s running for Mayor of Manila again) remains to be seen. Meantime, since the abuse of Manila Bay went on for more than a decade, the past DENR secretaries should not be allowed to go Scot-free and also be held accountable.

Adding to the pressures and speeding up the process of deterioration of Manila Bay is the failure of our two government agencies to enforce maritime pollution regulations.

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), the lead agency on maritime safety and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), their enforcement arm on maritime pollution, can make all the alibis they want to dispute the allegation of their ineptness and inability to prevent pollution of Manila Bay. But the floating plastics, garbage and thick oil slicks from commercial ships transiting the bay and those docked at our harbors and piers do not lie.

PCG continue to inspect ships (both foreign and coast-wise trade) to ensure compliance with MARPOL regulations. Yet, dilapidated inter-island tankers, with leaking hull, deficient instrument. Inadequate loading, discharging and tank cleaning equipment continue to ply their trade. Some do not even carry an “Oily water separator”, a mandatory equipment for tankers to separate water from oily waste.

Asked how they could get away with defective equipment and lack of tank cleaning machines and where they dump their oil sludge, the captain of a small tanker plying the Bataan- Sta. Ana oil depot route, owned and operated by one of the giant oil players, confidently replied: “we pay grease money to MARINA and Coastguard boarding party every voyage and without their knowledge we discharge our oily residues in Manila Bay, at night time, where no one can see”.

The oil terminals in Bataan and Subic bay requires cargo tanks of all tankers to be fully washed and cleaned prior to loading operations. Yet, none of these terminals, not even PCG, ask how the tanks are wash and where the oil effluents were discharge. When confronted with this issue, the Coastguard commandant bragged that their men are always vigilant in guarding our oceans. Adding that they make it a point to inspect “cargo record book” (record of loading, discharging and tank washing operations) when boarding vessels. Surprisingly, they never suspect that the entries to book can always be falsified.

Some world-wide trading vessels also use our territorial waters as their dumping ground. They navigate closer to our coast, pumped out their oily bilge water and indiscriminately throw their garbage and other toxic wastes overboard. Unless caught red-handed by our coastguard cutters, which is very unlikely because they seldom venture away from the coast, they cannot be apprehended elsewhere because the Philippines is NOT a party to the MARPOL convention of 1973/78.

Any nation who is a non-party to the MARPOL convention can expect to be the dumping site of the world. If readers can recall, about a year ago, a shipper from Japan exported to us several containers of stinking garbage and waste materials. Freights were pre-paid but the consignee was fictitious. The intention is to land these containers in Manila and leave it rotting at the custom’s warehouse until somebody finds out that there is no claimant (perhaps in about a year time). The containers would then be opened and its foul-smelling content transported to the nearby dumpsite. All the government did at that time was to file a diplomatic protest. But the guilty party got away without even a slap on the wrist. Had we sign for ratification the MARPOL convention, there would have been an outcry from the member nations and the owner of the Japanese vessel would have been sanction and severely fine by the Organization (IMO). It would be an interesting question for our lawmakers why we failed to ratify this international MARPOL convention.

A group of environmental activists has bemoaned the degeneration of Manila Bay into "floating landfills," due to unabated discard of non-biodegradable trash by residents. They said this water body is rapidly turning into pollution hotspots where huge amounts of non-biodegradable trash, particularly plastics, are dumped daily. Aside from trash, other major hazards to the environment are fertilizer and pesticide run-
offs from farms, and untreated effluents from residential, commercial and industrial establishments which are also damaging and killing the marine ecosystems.

A survey conducted in 2006 by the EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace Southeast Asia revealed that synthetic plastic materials account for 76 per cent of the floating trash items in Manila Bay, out of which 51 per cent are plastic bags.

The group is urging Filipinos to cut down on the use of plastic bags, reject all forms of littering and dumping, reduce trash and make it a habit to separate discards at source for reusing, recycling and composting. But unless the government regulates or enact laws against productions and uses of plastic materials (under MARPOL regulations throwing of plastics is prohibited in any seas, oceans or bodies of water in the world. U.S. also prohibits the use plastic bags in their malls and supermarkets) and forcibly remove the shanties illegally built by informal settlers (squatters) along the coast of Manila Bay and river banks, all efforts to conserve Manila Bay would remain futile.

We Filipinos should be educated on how to protect our marine environment. The government should embark on a massive information campaign to make people aware of the fatal effect to our lives if we fail to avert the destruction of marine and environmental resources of Manila Bay and other water bodies of the country. Manila Bay, in particular, should be given time to regenerate by itself. Whether we believe it or not, we all co-exist with this Bay. Once this great estuary and all the living things under it are destroyed, we too will be obliterated.

++ END ++

SUPERFERRY 9 - WHEN ARE WE GOING TO LEARN OUR LESSON?

2009-09-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

By: Capt. Alvils

In the morning of June 21, 2008, the world was stunned by the sinking of 23,820 tons, “Princess of Stars”, the largest passenger ship in the country, when she was caught at the height of the fury of typhoon “Frank”. More than 200 people died and about 600 others remained missing up to this day.

A few days ago, a tragic event in domestic shipping would again hit the headlines of major newspapers. Another passenger ferry, the 7,280 tons Superferry 9, (see inset) sunk but this time in moderate weather conditions.

Ironically, after several days of news coverage, the media would stop writing about the accident. They find politics and the forthcoming national elections a more sensational story than the sea tragedy. Perhaps, they got tired of reporting about sea disasters in Philippine waters as it seems to have become a common occurrence in the country. Nevertheless, let us recall that event and analyze what might have gone wrong with the ill-fated ferry.

Superferry 9 left the southern port city of General Santos on Saturday, 5th of September, and was to arrive in Iloilo the following day, Sunday, before it got into trouble.

In the early morning hours of September 06, 2009, the ferry started listing heavily to starboard side. The crew, in their efforts to calm the panicking passengers, said it was normal (perhaps they’ve experienced similar conditions in the past). But by day break, the vessel listed more to starboard side, where it finally capsized and sunk 9 miles off the coast of Zamboanga Del Norte.

While several hundred passengers were rescued by responding coastguard, commercial and fishing vessels, 10 people perished and about 30 others are missing,

The cause of the tragedy was not clear. There were rumors that the vessel listed to one side because of a hole on the hull. Definitely, a vessel will heel as soon as sea water enters her compartment. But the laws of stability tells us that ingresses of seawater alone won’t be enough to capsize her.

Modern vessels are now constructed to have several bottom tanks, completely separated, segregated and independent with its other. So much so that, when the hull is punctured, only the compartment adjacent to the damage side will be flooded, not the other compartments or the entire vessel. I’ve seen one vessel in Japan Sea with severely damage hull as a result of collision with another freighter. She safely reached port, listing to one side, and went straight to the repair yard.

Therefore, there must be other factors that might have caused her to overturn. It cannot be the shifting of unlashed cargoes to one side (passengers heard loud crashing of weights near their cabins) nor the flooding of compartments, it can only be the LOSS OF HER STABILITY.

At the start of investigation, Capt. Jose Yap, the Master of the hapless ferry, told the probe team of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) that strong winds of up to 10 knots may have caused his vessel to capsize. I find his story totally unbelievable, incredible and ridiculous. It was as if he was talking to people who have never been to sea before.

The photo below is an example of Force 3 sea condition (max winds 10 knots). You can see that the height of waves can be safe enough even for a small wooden boat to travel.

Capt. Jose Yap continues to explain that he noticed the vessel was slightly listing to port side several hours after departing the port of General Santos.

According to the laws of stability, a ship may develop a list for only two reasons –

a.) If the center of gravity is out of the centerline of the ship (caused by improper distribution of cargoes or when ballast tanks have uneven content);
b.) If the ship has a negative GM

Between the two conditions, (b) is most dangerous as it can spell disaster for a vessel.

Obviously, the Master was unaware of the stability condition of his vessel at the time of tragedy. He was desperately trying to correct the list and upright the vessel by filling up ballast water into its heeling tanks, not knowing that if his ship is already on a negative GM, the resulting free surface effects (the movement of water from side to side inside the tank) would worsen the vessel's condition as it would further increase the negativity of its GM.

Since time immemorial, Stability in domestic shipping has always been taken for granted. In fact, most of time, it is being ignored by people manning the vessel. Yet, stability continues to be one of the major cause of shipping disasters in our country.

Actually, the lists, sea conditions, entry of seawater or shifting of weights are just some of the aggravating factors but they’re not really the cause why vessels capsize. I will try to explain, as simple as possible, for the reader to understand how a ship can turn over regardless of any kind of weather conditions.

Gravity and Buoyancy are two kinds of forces that influence a floating object. The former pulls the object closer to the mass of the earth (sinks the object), the latter acts in reverse (upward force keeping an object afloat).

In normal condition, the center of gravity (CG) and center buoyancy (CB) is in line with each other, specifically at the center of the floating object, of which the position of the former is always higher than the latter.

The point or location of “Metacenter” (M) is of special interest to a cargo officer as it is precisely what is being calculated to form the basis for determining stability. At any instances, this should be higher than the center of gravity (CG).

The Metacentric Height (GM) is the height or distance of the Metacenter (M) from the center of gravity (CG) (see below diagram). How high or low is the M from G determines how stable a vessel is.

The term “Rolling Period” means the time taken by a ship to roll from one side to the other and back again. A large GM can cause a ship to be “stiff”, meaning she will have shorter rolling period. A small GM can cause a ship to be “tender”, meaning she will have longer rolling period. A negative (-) GM means the position of the center of gravity (CG) is higher than the Metacenter (M), Under this condition, you can forget about the rolling period as this can cause a vessel to capsize when heeled to one side by either internal or external forces.

A ship state of equilibrium determines whether, when she is tilted, she will right herself, remain as it is, or turn over (capsize).

A ship is said to be in “stable equilibrium” when, if she were inclined by external force, she would try to return to the upright position.

In “unstable equilibrium”, when inclined by external forces, she would try to heel still further until she capsizes (this is what happened to “Princess Of The Orient” and perhaps to “Superferry 9”).

The state of “stable equilibrium” is achieved when a vessel attains its ideal, positive GM (not too large, not too small). The drawing below explains how this occurs.

When heeled to one side by any kind of forces, the center of buoyancy (CB) moves downward and creates a righting lever (GZ). The lever pushes the vessel upright. How fast or late the upright action depends on the height of the metacenter. With negative (-) GM, there won’t be any righting lever at all. What you’ll get is a capsizing couple (inverted GZ lever)

The primary cause of a negative (-) GM is when a ship has more weights on top than at the bottom.

A prudent Master should calculate and know his vessel’s GM at any stage of the voyage. If he determines that it is getting smaller but couldn’t control the inflow of cargoes, he should correct this inadequacy by adding non-cargo weights at the bottom (filling up of ballast tanks, specifically double bottom tanks). The idea is to move G further to the bottom, thereby increasing its distance with M.

Care should be taken when taking in ballast water. Before a tank is fully loaded (top up), the stage when it is half-filled produces the greatest effect of “free surface”. It can further aggravate her already negative stability .In short, it will become worst before it gets better. So that, it is always advisable to touch the ballast tanks in port, prior to sailing, while the vessel is stationary. Filling up empty tanks with ballast water at sea, with negative GM, in adverse weather conditions, is tantamount to committing suicide.

Obviously, Superferry 9 was in the state of “unstable equilibrium” prior to her capsizing. What led her to this condition can perhaps be traced from the time she departed the port of General Santos city.

The above explanation may appear simple. But the calculations involve in determining GM is a bit tedious and complicated. However, with the present, modern computerization system, the procedure is simplified by installation of loading computers, designed and programmed for specific vessels.

What I have related so far are mostly the technical aspects of stability. Perhaps, these may already sound boring to some readers. But the emphasis here is that the people who regulate shipping, particularly PCG and MARINA, must be well knowledgeable on this subject. Considering that this is one of the major causes of shipping disasters, they should require Masters to demonstrate his vessel’s stability by presenting a GOM (corrected GM) calculation prior to sailing. Unfortunately, not too many coastwise-trading Master can perform the calculations since, they said, this is not required by port authorities. On the other hand, even if they do learn to calculate and the document will eventually be required before departure, none of the shore personnel of PCG or MARINA will understand the figures. The Master can present a computation of his income tax returns and they won’t know the difference.

During our last “Maritime forum”, the PCG representative (MARINA, the lead agency in maritime safety, did not show up) admitted that nobody checks the stability of the vessel before sailing. They usually rely only on the “Master’s Oath”.

“By signing and presenting this document”, The PCG official said, “the Master swore that his vessel is seaworthy and in stable condition”.

Common sense dictates that a mere piece of paper can not attest to the seaworthiness and stability of a vessel. If the port authorities will always believe whatever the Master says, just because he is “the one in command” and is “suppose to make sure that his vessel is safe”, then it is just like saying: ‘THE LIVES AND SAFETY OF PASSENGERS AND CREW ALWAYS REST WITH THE MASTER”. If this is the case, where does the culpability of the state come in? What is the use of inspecting the vessel before departure? Will mere inspection of documents, life-saving equipment and counting the number of passengers ensure the safety of the vessel? Expired documents, lack of safety and emergency equipment or overloading of passengers do not cause a vessel to sink. A negative stability does.

The biggest problem we have at the moment is the overlapping of function and responsibilities of people regulating domestic shipping. There are just two many government agencies taking part in the control and operations of domestic trading vessels. We have the DOTC, MARINA (under DOTC), PCG, PPA, PRC, MTC and sometimes the Maritime Police. We have a common saying that- “too many cooks spoils the broth”

But, whoever is the one in-charge, the people boarding and inspecting vessels should not leave “any stone unturned” in ensuring the vessel’s stability and seaworthiness. The following should be verified before sailing -

1) Proper distribution of containers and heavy cargoes,
2) Proper and adequate lashing of cargoes;
3) Adequate GM (in addition to GOM calculation sheets, check the condition of cargo holds and ballast tanks)
4) Vessel’s integrity (Inspect vessel’s hull, bulkheads and superstructures)

I am sure any one, or maybe all, of the above might have caused Superferry 9 to capsize.

There is now a move in the house of representative to create a “Maritime Safety Board”, something that I recommended some 4 or 5 years ago. The young and naïve congressman of Bataan had been sitting on my 12 pages manuscript for the same period now.

But even if a board is created to oversee maritime safety, but the person in-charge will just be another government appointee, it will only be “the same dog with new leash”.

To be fair with PCG, among all government agencies involved in domestic shipping, they are the ones who can most likely enforce maritime safety. However, before they can really be effective, their people must learn the following:

1) Trim and stability
2) Calculation of Metacentric Height (GOM)
3) Calculation of shearing force and bending moments
4) Free Surface effects
5) Meteorology and laws of storm.
6) Cargo Handling and care of cargo during the voyage
7) Safety and emergency procedures

Lately, the government of Australia issued an advisory to their citizens against traveling by passenger ferries if there are other means of transport available. They said our passenger ships are unsafe. PCG chief, Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, disputed this statement saying our passenger ferries remains to be safe despite the occasional shipping accidents. But statistics don't lie. We still hold the record for the worst maritime disaster in the world (Sinking of Dona Paz). It remains unbroken up to this day. Unless corrective measures will be taken, our passenger ships will always be unsafe,

I don’t know about the people in the government, but I feel frustrated and embarrassed to the international shipping community that sea accident has become common in a country considered by the world as the major supplier of seafarers.

I’ve said time and again that the only way to stop sea disasters in our country is for our government to set politics aside and leave the industry to the shipping experts. These are the seasoned, experienced Master Mariners and Chief Marine Engineers, not the politicians who are appointed to their positions on the basis of not what they know but whom they know.

I hope the bright people in the DOTC, MARINA and PCG and our lawmakers will pause for a moment and think about what I wrote in this article.

Meantime, the question remains- When will these shipping tragedies stop? How many more lives will be lost? When are we going to learn our lesson?

++ END ++

THE GHOST OF THE GOLDEN TAKER

2009-07-24T02:16:00.000-07:00

Paranormal and/or Supernatural is a term that describes unusual experiences or occurrences that defies human or scientific explanation. It is also the appearances of beings that exist beyond the realm of normal knowledge and forces of nature. People are always scared of witnessing a weird event like seeing the image of something or somebody whom we know does not exist in the living world. Ghost is one paranormal or supernatural being that can raise the hair of even the most gallant person on this planet.

There is a common saying that the only thing certain in life is death. Yet, for many of us, it is how to go over the period of transition between life and death and the uncertainty of what would happen next that made us fear death per ce. There is no known individual who came back from the dead to tell us what it’s like to live in the afterlife. The presence of a closed friend or relative standing before us days after accompanying him/her to his/her grave will most likely give us a heart attack. Fear would grip us even if we know that they are incapable of touching, much less hurting, us. Perhaps, our fear of spirits stemmed from the fact that their appearances remind us that we too will join their ranks someday.

We, Filipinos, characterized Ghosts as the returning soul or spirit of a departed. The most common belief is that they return to our world either to let us know of an unfinished business or to continue performing the work that they were tasked to do prior to their death until they realize that they are already dead and no longer belong to this world. Once they accept this reality, they will stop mingling with the living and travel to where they belong. Of course some individuals do not believe in Ghost. For them when a person dies its spirit merely shift to the next phase of life after death, whatever or wherever it is. On the other hand, some people do not even believe in the after life, much less the spirit of the dead. For them nothing follows after death. That a human being is just made up of flesh and blood or of water and matter. When it stops breathing it abandons life, decays and transforms into an organic substance. They consider Ghost as a form of hallucination. I use to have the same perception. But when you experience it yourself and hear the vivid account of people who had seen it too, it’s kind of difficult to accept that it is just a product of imagination.

My wife once related to me that on the third night of mourning, she saw her departed Aunt stooping down an old cabinet as if searching for something inside. The following morning they opened up the cupboard and discovered a bundle of cash, neatly tied-up with a rubber band, underneath the pile of old clothing. The discovery was most welcome by the family who were desperately trying to raise funds for the burial. Perhaps her aunt was so attached to the hidden notes that she could not bear to just leave it behind without putting it into good use.

Paranormal and/or supernatural beings are said to be living in a different dimension. Just like tuning in a specific radio frequency, you can’t see them unless your subconscious mind and spiritual being are synchronized with their wavelength. I was almost sure that my spiritual frequency is different from theirs until the day I join this tanker vessel.

My story happened long time ago onboard a crude oil tanker. I have opted to hide the real name of this vessel so as not to scare the present crew on board, although I doubt if the tanker still existed. Under the new IMO rules for building and upgrading of tankers, 25 years is too long to keep a tanker vessel serviceable. Nevertheless, Let me just name the vessel as “the golden tanker”. If any of my original crew happens to read this article, they would surely remember this ship and recall the frightening event that took place onboard. They too encountered the same experience that I had.

I also need to conceal the real name of the Ghost to protect the privacy and interest of his surviving family. Let me just call him as “Arman”. And he was my AB.

From Manila I flew over to Tokyo to receive my final briefing. From there, I took a plane to Dubai where the vessel was presently anchored. I first met Arman at Dubai airport. He arrived from a flight direct from Manila together with some of the crew. He was very courteous and friendly. As soon as our agent and transport arrive, he helped me load my luggage while his ship mates squeezes in their own belongings and scrambled to get the best seat at the back of the cramped van. I wasn’t sure if it was his nature to help people or maybe he was just doing it out of courtesy knowing that I was the highest-ranking Filipino officer on board.

A place was reserved for me at the front seat of the van. Since most of the crew was reluctant to sit beside me, Arman quickly occupied the space beside the driver, leaving the window seat for me. In broken English-Arabic accent our driver explained how he would transport us to the vessel. Along the way Arman was in a jolly mood and very talkative. He told me stories of how difficult it is to be spending a long vacation. Adding that his financial difficulties were aggravated by the delivery of the first baby.

“I had to plead the office to give me an early assignment, otherwise there would be no milk for the baby”, Arman laughed as he spoke.

Other than giving him advice to work diligently for the sake of the baby, I kept mum for the rest of the trip, contented with listening to his stories of heartaches and financial problems. My mind was actually traveling elsewhere. I was about to join the vessel as First Officer to replace the Chief Officer after the latter completes his contract. Despite years of training and practices of stability and cargo calculations, I wasn’t sure if I could meet the company’s expectation once I took over the duties as Chief Officer. I was experiencing the usual “promotion anxiety syndrome”, suffered by most newly promoted seafarer.

Onboard the vessel I met the Dutch Captain and the German Chief Officer. After handing over my sailing certificates and some company documents, a hand-over procedure took place. The following morning, the vessel received an order to set sail for Kharg Island and load a shipment of crude oil for Japan.

The usual practice onboard tankers with three watch keeping officers is for the First Officer to take the 4-8 watch while the Chief Officer went on day work. I was on the bridge at 1545 hours for my first sea watch when a smiling face came to greet me. It was Arman! He too was assigned to be on my watch.

For several months the vessel went on a liner oil trade from Kharg Island to Japan. While the route was becoming monotonous for most of us, the span of time allowed me to learn the character of each crew. While majority of the crew will only work when told, Arman turned out to be the most industrious man onboard. He seldom rest and sit down during working hours. Even on rainy days when deck work becomes impossible, he would always find work inside the accommodation, sometimes getting the ire of the Bosun who would rather wait for the weather to improve before resuming work on deck. During Sundays when ABs are required to stand watch, he would always find something to do on the bridge, wiping walls, scrubbing the floor or policing metals.

On our third voyage to Kharg Island, I was monitoring traffic by radar when an alarm sounded from the back of panel switchboard. Arman, who was standing outside the wing performing a lookout, entered the wheelhouse to check the origin of alarm.

“It’s the forward masthead light Sir”, Arman reported. “ Do you want me to replace the bulb now?”

“ No, just leave it. We’ll do it in the morning”, I said. There was no point replacing the busted bulb. It was still dark and the vessel will soon arrive port.

As the vessel approaches Kharg Island, I called up the engine room and rang the Captain.

“Capt., we’re almost there. I already gave one hour notice to the engine room”, I said.

“OK thanks, I’ll be up”, the Captain said.

The vessel dropped anchor at around 0600 hours, a stone throw away from the Kharg Island oil terminal. The Master was conversing over the VHF with the people from shore. He was told that loading would commence at 1000 hours. Pilot will be onboard at 0900 hours.

Anticipating a busy day, I went down the galley at 0730 hours to take an early breakfast, leaving Arman on the bridge. I was about to finish my meal when the 8-12 watch AB came rushing in the officer’s mess. The worried look in his face showed that something serious happened.

“Sir, Arman fell from the Masthead down to the main deck”, the AB reported.

I was momentarily shocked. I know why Arman went up the masthead pole, but I wasn’t expecting that he would climb it right after his watch. In fact, I was intending to inform the Chief Officer so he could assign the task of replacing the busted bulb to the Bosun. Obviously, Arman did it out of his own initiative, without the knowledge and assistance from anybody onboard.

I was one of the first man to arrive on the scene. Arman was on deck, laying on his back and unconscious. He was bleeding profusely from the ears, nose and mouth. He was wearing an old safety belt tied around his waist but the line attached to the hook parted from the middle. The hook was left hanging on the masthead handrail.

“Had I known that Arman will climb the Masthead pole, I would have given him a new set of safety belt, not the old and discarded one that he just picked up from somewhere”, the Bosun said, feeling remorse.

Arman was wearing a safety helmet when he fell. Yet, it failed to cushion his head from the impact of the fall. The masthead pole was just too high for any safety headgear to break a fall. Arman, a seasoned seafarer, is aware of the safe working practices on board. Yet, it was his eagerness to perform a task that made him overlooked the fundamental safety procedures on “working aloft”.

“Call the Captain, Chief Officer, get The Second Mate, get the stretcher”, I was hysterically shouting with trembling voice to all on-lookers.

The Captain and Chief Officer arrived on the scene and checked the condition of the patient. The Captain raised his head, looked me up in the face and said:

“Mate, lets ask for medical assistance ashore”.

I race to the bridge and called Kharg Island by VHF Channel 16. The guy on the other line asked for the nature of emergency, then told me to standby for the launch that would bring the medical team.

Arman was already in the ship’s hospital bed when a team of doctors and a lady nurse arrived. He was wearing an oxygen mask and an oxygen tank was beside him. He was in a comma and still bleeding profusely. The doctor gave him an injection and fitted a machine to monitor his heartbeat. The indicator showed that his pulse rate was rapidly dropping.

“Captain, this guy is suffering from massive head injuries. He may have brain concussion. We need to bring him ashore immediately”, the Doctor said.

Without waiting for the Captain to react, I burst out orders to prepare the stretcher and transport the patient to the waiting launch. The Bosun, 2 other seamen and I also jumped into the boat.

Onboard the sea craft, the two doctors and the lady nurse took turns in monitoring Arman’s heartbeat. The lead doctor, who was kneeling before the patient, stood up. shooked his head and whispered something to his colleague. Suddenly the lady nurse, who was also kneeling down, burst out a loud cry.

“I am sorry sir, really sorry. He’s gone”. She was literally crying as she spoke.

Then she covered Arman’s face with the ship’s woolen blanket. I kept removing the blanket from his face hoping that they made a mistake and Arman would soon recover his breathing. But the lady nurse kept putting it back on. The boat arrive shore and Arman was brought to the nearby army hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Moments later, the agent arrived, noted my report and explained to us how the body would be transported back to Manila.

We returned to the tanker a short while later bringing with us the sad news. There was a widespread feeling of grief and sorrow among the crew. Nobody wanted to talk about the accident. Everybody work to complete loading without uttering a single word. Even the German Chief Officer who used to shout and over-react at slightest mistakes was unusually quiet. He seemed to be contented watching the crew securing the vessel for sailing.

The vessel departed Kharg Island for Tokyo Bay that afternoon, at 1700 hours. Right after sailing, I gathered the crew and asked them to say a prayer for Arman. We all agreed to hold a prayer vigil at Arman’s cabin at 2000 hours or right after my watch.

At 2030 hours, half of the entire crew complement entered Armand’s cabin to pray the Rosary. The Bosun was not around. We were in the middle of the third mystery when Bosun came rushing in inside the cabin. There was a frightened look on his face.

“What happen to you Bosun”, I asked.

“Sorry I was late”, he said. “I forgot about the prayer vigil and fell asleep. I woke up when somebody pulled my right toe”.

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t recognize his face. My room was not well lighted. But I think it was Arman”, the Bosun said, breathing heavily and trembling with fear.

“How did you know that?” I was more inquisitive now.

“He was wearing a safety helmet and a safety belt was hanging around his waist”

A widespread fear and anxiety gripped the occupants of the room. Those standing in the corner move closer to the middle. One was about to leave the room but was discourage by the thought that he might meet Arman’s spirit along the alleyway.

“Let’s continue praying”, I said to everyone. “Since Bosun is late, we start again from the first mystery”.

We were at the end of the fifth mystery when the entire room was filled with the smell of burning candles. While everyone in the room smells the odor, no one spoke a word about it. We just look at each other’s face and continue praying the final “Hail Holy Queen” prayer.

There was difficulty vacating Armand’s cabin after the prayer vigil. Everybody wanted to leave the room first. Afraid of being left behind, they started pushing and shoving each other at the opening of the door.

That night, after Bosun related his experience and the incident inside Arman’s cabin, nobody wanted to sleep alone in their cabins. Even walking along the quiet alleyways became frightening. When one Oiler claimed that he saw somebody entered Arman’s cabin, everybody started moving around the vessel in group of twos. When it was time for bed, majority packed up their pillows and blankets and spread it along the floor of the crew’s recreation room. Some slept together in one room. Others decided to stay awake all night as a form of vigil but only in the crew’s mess, not in Arman’s cabin.

I would be lying if I will not admit that I too contemplated on requesting the cadet to sleep beside me inside my room. It was only my ego as their superior officer that helped me control my fear and slept alone in my cabin albeit with all the lights on.

Before retiring to bed, I notice that the captain’s cabin, located adjacent to my room, was also flooding with lights. I was wondering if he too was experiencing the same fear that we had.

That night I barely catch a sleep. I keep closing and opening my eyes to make sure that no unwanted visitor was inside my room. At 0340 hours, my phone rang. I thought maybe it was the 12-4 AB making a wake up call. I picked up the receiver but nobody answered. The phone rang for the second time. This time I heard a soft moaning from the other end of the line. Fear enveloped my entire body as I dropped the phone hand piece down on the floor.

“Was there somebody trying to frighten me or was it Arman wanting to communicate with me? I said to myself.

Moments later, I heard a knock on my door. I quickly opened the doorknob and saw the 12-4 watch AB.

“Sir, its 0345.” He said. “And I think you had your phone hanged up”

“How many times did you call me?” I asked.

“Only once, Sir. The line was busy so I decided to knock on your door”, The AB replied, still puzzled by my question.

My watch was completed without much incident. After breakfast, I went inside recreation hall to visit the crew. It was a Sunday. Everyone was in the hall, playing various games and watching Video. But, unlike the past Sundays of recreation activities, the crew was unusually quiet. It seems that nobody wanted to discuss the frightening experience of the Bosun and the night of the prayer vigil. AT 1100 hours, the mess man started preparing the table for lunch. He was setting the plates and utensils on the table when we suddenly heard a loud bursting of a drinking glass. We all went inside the mess hall and notice that the assigned table place for Armand was in disarray. Pieces of glass scattered around his table. The plate dropped on the floor together with the spoon and fork.

“What happened?” I asked the mess man.

“I don’t know, Sir”, he said. “ I was setting the table when suddenly the glass on Arman’s table exploded”

“Never mind” I said. “I would suggest not to put anything on Armand’s table for the meantime”.

Since it was almost lunchtime, majority of the crew were present when the breaking of glass occurred. They all felt the eerie presence of Armand, who when still living, never like anybody occupying his place on the table. Unlike most of the crew, he never transfers to any table to eat his meal except his own.

On the second night of Armand’s death, as usual I reported to the bridge at 1545 hours. There was not much happening that day. The sea was calm and there was very little traffic. At 1700 hours, the 3rd mate went up the bridge to relieve me for dinner. I returned an hour later and prepare the sextant and sight reduction tables for my star sight observation. After taking altitudes of stars I entered the chart room to calculate the vessel’s position. I was busy plotting my fix when my newly promoted AB entered the chart room. He seemed to be observing what I was doing.

“Don’t stay too long inside” I said. “There’s nobody on lookout”.

I was thinking that he went inside the chart room only out of curiosity. But despite my order to be on look out the AB remained standing close to me.

“What’s wrong with you?” “Can you not understand what I mean?” “stay out”, I said, this time feeling irritated by his stubbornness.

“Sir, I am afraid to go out. Somebody’s standing outside the starboard wing”, he said, visibly frightened by what he saw.

I immediately closed the chart room curtain, entered the wheelhouse and remained standing for a while to adjust my vision with the dark. Slowly, I approached the starboard sliding wing door and peep on the hardened glass. There, under the light of a full moon sky, I saw a silhouette of a man standing straight, facing the bow, at the extreme corner of the wing. He was wearing a safety helmet and a safety belt was hanging around his waist. It was difficult to distinguish his face from where I was standing. But No doubt, it was Arman performing a lookout.

His appearance was short-lived. He was gone after several blink of my eyes.

The AB was standing beside me again.

“Where is it? I don’t see anything out there”, I lied to relieve his fear.

The AB made a second look at the starboard wing and saw nothing.

That morning, I asked the Third and Second mates if they saw anything unusual on the bridge during their watches. When they said none, I realized that the Ghost of Armand only visit the bridge during the 4-8 watches. His assigned sea duties when he was still alive.

On our third day of sailing, Armand’s Ghost appeared for the last time. This time during my morning watch.

At 0500 hours, while I was calculating the time of morning twilight, my AB again entered the chart room and reported the presence of somebody inside the wheelhouse.

“Sir, there he is again, standing in the corner”, the AB reported with intense fear in his face.

I immediately switched off the chart room lights, waited for a while to adjust my vision with dark, Then entered the wheelhouse. There I saw a blurred figure of a man standing beside the engine telegraph, facing the bow. The dim moonlight sky reflecting inside the wheelhouse was enough to see that the visitor was wearing a cover-all and a safety helmet. His left arm resting on the engine telegraph, his right on the front board.

The hairs on my pore skin rose as a cold sweat of fear draped my entire body. I was about to leave the bridge but the thought that I might ruin my career just because of a ghost, plus the embarrassment of being the laughing stock onboard the vessel, gave me enough courage to confront the unwanted visitor. Instead of running away I reach for the panel board and flicked the light switch. As the entire wheelhouse illuminated, I saw that there was nobody there except me and my shivering AB.

Determine to end the haunting; I slowly approach the corner end of the wheelhouse, near the engine telegraph, where I last saw the dim vision. Suddenly I felt a cold mass of air passing through my skin pores.

“He’s here, I can feel it”, I said to my self.

“Arman, please don’t frighten us”. My voice and entire body was trembling, but I was now determined to face the intruder even if he appears before my eyes.

“We don’t know what you want. But you have to understand that like when you were with us, we are also trying to make a living here”

There was no answer.

“Like you, we also have our own family to feed”.

The tone of my voice was soft and low but my words seemed to have reverberated around the entire area of the wheelhouse.

I waited for something to happen but there was only eerie silence. Time passed and the entire wheelhouse remains calm and quiet. Nothing can be heard except the voices of bored watch keepers calling “Balut, balut”, over VHF 16, obviously inviting for chat mates.

As I move around the wheelhouse, still trying to feel the presence of the intruder, my frightened AB kept on following me where ever I go. Actually, I allowed him to tag along behind my back to lessen my fear. We kept the lights on until the twilight period. I took my star sights observation and completed my watch with out further incident.

After that last visit, Arman’s spirit never re-appear on the bridge or any area of the vessel again. The last lap of the voyage remained uneventful and free of disturbance.

On arrival Tokyo, I requested the “Flying Angel” chaplain to come onboard to celebrate mass, bless Arman’s cabin and the entire vessel. The crew welcomes the ceremony as the start of normalization of life on board.

Arman, even after his death, was a good and dedicated subordinate. He remained obedient to his superior up to the very end. Perhaps, my words made him realize that there was no need for him to stand watch on the bridge and that it was now time for him to leave and travel to his next destination.

After my tour of duty on that tanker, I went on leave and visited Arman’s wife and kid. The infant that Arman left behind has now grown to be a fine looking boy. Handsome, obedient and discipline, just like his father.

When I related to his wife the chilling story of Arman’s spirit visiting the vessel, I learned that Arman too visited his wife even before she knew about his death.

Arman has now closed the final chapter of his life. But, as far as his family, friends and colleague in the seafaring industry are concerned; his memories will long be remembered. Perhaps, by now his soul had already found peace.

-----END-----

SOMALI PIRATES

2009-07-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

SOMALIAN PIRACY – HOW DOES IT AFFECT OUR LOCAL MANNING INDUSTRY?

Piracy in the shipping lanes off Somalia is nothing new. The pirate gangs didn't suddenly decide to attack vulnerable merchant ships. Their evolution happened over two decades because of several factors. First is that Somalia is one of the poorest nations in the world, with a totally ineffective and non-functioning central government. In a country without effective laws, lawlessness is not only tolerated, but often admired.

The country is currently totally in the grip of at least four powerful clans. Many based on family and religious extremism have been part of the Somali scene for generations. They operate with ruthless efficiency to control their fiefdoms, and murder and ransom have long been weapons they use to earn power and riches.

Since the early 1990s, there have been at least 14 failed Somali central governments. Political leaders who attempt to control the all-powerful clans have either invariably end up dead or must flee the country to avoid assassination.

Piracy in Somalia is a combination of the clan’s self-serving struggle to gain wealth and power and the legitimate desire to save the country’s fishing industry. It has taken its roots from tribal fishermen who, tired of being poor, abused, oppressed and subjugated, decided to take the law in their own hands to offset the present economic imbalance. The large, modern and highly-sophisticated fishing boats from Russia, Japan and other industrialized nations constantly encroached in the waters of Somalia and began to wipe out its entire populations of fish. Moreover, as the Somali pirate spokesmen claims, many foreign ships used their coast to dump garbage and highly toxic refuse, thereby speeding up the devastation process of marine life. Their activities were killing the traditional fishing industry of the already poverty-stricken Somalis.

In an attempt to protect its territory, some Somali fishermen organized into bands of raiders and boarded close-in fishing vessels and cargo ships. Armed with rifles, they held up the ship’s captain and demanded payments for the income loss their illegal fishing and waste dumping operations were causing the local fishermen.

It follows that the tributes paid by big fishing boats and cargo ships were so successful that the powerful clans decided to expand on the local fishermen’s idea of collecting money from the intruders.

Today, Piracy, particularly the collection of ransom payments, has become Somalia's most important industry, with reports that the gangs earned $150 million in 2008. And it still goes on, virtually unchecked by any organized opposition. More than 300 ships were attacked last year, with 20 still in pirate’s control, along with more than 300 hostages, all awaiting negotiations for ransom payments.

Meanwhile, for economic reasons, ship owners continue to encourage sailing of their ships through the Somalia coast and Gulf of Aden despite the great threat to security. The Gulf of Aden, which links the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, is the shortest route from Asia and Europe and one of the world’s busiest lanes, crossed by more than 20,000 ships each year. The alternative route around the continent’s southern Cape Of Good Hope (see inset map below) takes up to two weeks longer at huge expenses.

Likewise, because of insurance coverage and the relatively low cost of paying ransoms, plus the fact that the pirates rarely used overt force, ship owners cooperated. The taking of several hundred ships a year is a very small part of the 300,000 that pass along the entire coast of Africa. As long as less than one percent of ships are held for ransom, insurance companies consider this acceptable. Of course, with the rising tide of piracy, the premiums goes up along with the ransom demands, and shipping companies just raise prices to their customers for services.

Seizing ships became so prevalent in the early 2000s; the now well-organized and clan-led pirates didn't need to board some ships to get money. All they had to do was inform shipping companies that the pirates would allow their vessels to proceed if a tribute of several thousand dollars, later upped to millions, were paid. Until recently, when American and other navies became involved, even when captured, the pirates were usually set free in exchange for ship's crew hostages.

With millions of dollars coming into their control almost daily, the clans' pirate operations continued to grow in size by recruiting willing young Somalis, acquiring more sophisticated weapons and adding more speedboats to their fleet. They now use so-called mother ships, large vessels that can venture more distances out to sea and set the smaller motorboats off on missions of piracy far beyond Somali waters.

They've also established sanctuary ports along the coast of Africa where they keep captured ships and hundreds of hostages, all part of the Somali pirates' ongoing business of turning high profits at low risk.

A flotilla of NATO warships from nearly a dozen countries has patrolled the Gulf of Aden and nearby Indian Ocean waters. Their main objective is to neutralize the Somalian bandits and protect the flow of commercial shipping traffic. They have halted many attacks but the area is so vast they can't stop all

But how does this event affect our seafaring industry?

Sometime in April of this year, a Greek-owned bulk carrier, MV “Irene E.M.”, flagged in the Caribbean island country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was attacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia. In an unusual night time raid (attacks usually occurs at daytime), they seized the vessel and held hostage 22 Filipino crew. As of this writing (or almost 3 months later), the vessel is still at anchored off the so-called pirates sanctuary port, guarded by their captors, waiting for the US$ 2 million ransom that may never be paid.

Surprisingly, the Filipino master and his crew were allowed to communicate with their love ones, the ship owner and their manning agency in Ermita, Manila. Contrary to reports that they
are being fed and treated well by their captors, they related the unbearable living conditions onboard the vessel. They have run out of food supplies and have started drinking the water draining from their air conditioning unit to survive. Some crews are stricken ill and require medical attention.

Impatient by the inaction of the Philippine government and the manning agency, which keeps on saying that negotiations to release the hostages is still on-going, the families of the victims trooped to a radio station and sought assistance from the media. They feel that the Greek owner is buying time to reduce the ransom payment. Unfortunately, time is no longer on their side. Their captors have set a deadline for payment of ransom. After which, they would start chopping off the heads of the Filipino sailors. The families now fear they may never be able to see their loved ones again.

But what can our government really do about it?

Unlike the Americans and French who can deploy navy seals and Special Forces at short notice to free their own nationals, our army could not even protect its citizenry in its own backyard. In fact, it has failed, time and again, to put an end to the perennial bombings, hostage-taking activities and atrocities committed by Abu Sayaf and other terrorist groups? They cannot therefore be expected to rescue our seafarers from their captors. But don’t be wrong about it. We do have the well-trained, battle-tested marines that can launch a strike at the Somalia pirates anytime. What we do not have is “Political will”, “Guts”, “Motivation” and “Audacity” or PGMA.

Hostage-taking of Filipino seafarers is not something new. In fact, the government admitted that, at the onset of hostilities in Somalia, about a couple of hundreds of Filipino seafarers have already been taken hostage by Somali pirates. Some were released after payment of ransom by their respective ship owners, but 122 others are still held captive, waiting to be rescued. Perhaps, it is the most number of hostages by one single nationality. Considering that the Philippines is one of the world’s largest supplier of seafarers, we are the ones hardest hit by this escalation of violence.

As Filipino seamen hostage swelled in numbers in Somalia, the government remains clueless on how to provide protection to its 350,000 seafarers sailing to and from the dangerous waters of Somalia.

“What the government is doing right now is to continue to monitor the negotiations being done by the manning agencies with the pirates in Somalia. At the moment there are no planned nor contemplated strong action as what is being done by other countries to rescue their citizens”," said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the guy with the flying eyebrow, who is also the namesake of the manning agency’s office location.

He said it with ease and confidence, oblivious of the fact that these seafarers, whom the government plans to abandon, are the same group of overseas workers they called the “unsung heroes”, whose dollar remittances has significantly contributed to the growth of our ailing economy.

Mr. Ermita also said the Philippine government is poised to recommend the enforcement of travel ban for Filipino seafarers in Somalia. Not knowing that banning Filipino seamen from certain risky regions is tantamount to preventing them from boarding vessels and practicing their trade as seamen. Ship owners cannot be selective of their charterers nor the origin and destination of their cargoes. The same way that ship owners cannot choose a longer route just because they have Filipino crew onboard. Hence, odds will be high that at one point of their contract, their vessels will transit the dangerous waters of Somalia and the Gulf Of Aden.

Critics say our Government has not done enough to secure the release of all Filipino hostages in Somalia and prevent their abduction. While other countries warned Somali pirates that they will retaliate if their own nationals are captured, saying that an attack to their own national is equivalent to an attack to their country, our POEA, DFA and law makers remained silent and complacent about the issue. It seems that this excerpt of our national anthem : “Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi, ang mamatay ng dahil sayo”, no longer inspire people. Indeed, critics maybe right in saying that we are one of the most un-nationalistic, un-patriotic people in the world.

The United States is now considering new options to fight piracy, including adding navy gun ships along Somalia’s coast and launching a campaign to disable pirate “mother ships”. But until then, all we can do is watch on the sideline and pray hard that the Somali pirates would be kind enough to release unharmed our compatriots and that this nightmare for our Filipino seafarers would soon come to an end.

+++ END +++

FILIPINO PATRIOTS - AN EXTINCT BREED?

2009-03-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

“Patriotism” is man’s noble endeavor to defend and protect its land of domicile, work for the betterment of its society and pursue a path of greatness. It is simply defined as love for ones country and its people.

Today, people (particularly those in the government) pretend to be patriots but none of them is even close to emulating one. With all the abuses, widespread graft and corruption, violation of human rights, avarice, greed and evil around us, the true essence of patriotism in our country is now lost to total oblivion. We see heroes and patriots only in our history books and war films. But we have yet to see a live one today. People nowadays are blinded by a common desire to just merely survive, protect their own interest and no longer care what happens to our country. In fact, some critics says our government is even trying to sell our country to China.

Let me tell you about the movie I’ve seen - the “Man of the Year”. It is an unusual story about patriotism. “Tom Dobbs” (portrayed by the actor Robin Williams), is the host of a comedy talk show, who mimics, imitates, ridicules and makes fun of politicians and their political agendas. His antics and clowning around provided laughter and amusement to so many people. He has captivated enough audience that his TV program went sky-rocketing on top of the rating’s list. His life changed one day when a fan asked him to run for president. He thought it was a great idea and decided to enter politics. Having led the nationwide surveys from all fronts, people, particularly his own turf and supporters, were convinced that he was a sure bet for the presidency?

In a move to modernize the forthcoming national election, the government subsidized a technological firm (Delacroy Company) to develop voting machines. A few days before election, Eleonor Green (played by Laura Linney), who works for Delacroy company, discovered a serious “Glitch” (program error) in the computer program that could alter the result of election. She tries to tell the company C.E.O. and other senior officials but was simply told to keep mum and forget what she found. The top management of Delacroy was unanimous in keeping the matter a secret. Announcing the “Glitch” at that point in time will be catastrophic for their business. But the lady computer expert will not be dissuaded. She was bothered by the thought that if she allows the election to continue, the result might not reflect the true will of the people. She was determined to report and explain her findings to anybody who would listen. It was at this point that she was abducted and drugged by goons hired by the computer company. Their purpose was to discredit and ruin her reputation so that nobody would listen to what she would say. They created a scenario that she was fired for spreading black propaganda against the company and for being a drug addict.

Come election Day, Mr. Tom Dobbs won the highest position of the land by a landslide. Eleanor, now out of job, took her laptop, infiltrated the company’s computer system, identified the “Glitch” (the 2 B’s of “Dobbs” was erroneously counted as 2 votes), re-programmed her computer and simulated the election using all results and data from voting precincts all over the country. True enough, it was the rival candidate that won, not Tom Dobbs.

On the night of Mr. Dobbs victory party, the lady programmer (Eleonor) disguised herself as a journalist and went to the celebration uninvited. She told herself, if nobody would listen to her perhaps this newly elected president, who seems to be a reasonable man, will. There she met Mr. Dobbs and befriended him. Tom was shocked when Eleonor told him about the “Glitch”.

“I am afraid you did not won the election, Mr. Dobbs”, Eleonor said.

Mr. Dobbs immediately orders his aids to conduct an investigation to determine the veracity of Eleonor’s report. None of them took the order seriously. They all advice him not to believe the lady. While it is true that she was involved in the programming, the woman is just hallucinating. She was fired for spreading unfounded rumors of computer errors and for being an addict. Besides, his aids said, the opposing candidate conceded defeat and there is nobody in the country questioning the result of election.

But Mr. Dobbs remain disturbed. Against the advice of his staffs, he continued communicating with Eleonor. He became curios to learn more about her, the program she created and the company she works. He told himself that if he is to be the president of this country, there should be no slightest doubt that he has the mandate of the people.

On proclamation day, Mr Dobbs received a telephone call from Eleonor informing him that she fears for her life. She said that after their meeting, there had been several attempts to her life. Their telephone conversation was cut short when a truck hit the telephone booth where she was calling. She survives the attempt and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Mr. Dobbs learned about the accident and started to wonder - If she is lying and out of her mind, why would anybody try to kill her? If they are trying to silence her, there must be a truth to what she is saying.

Before proceeding to the palace to take his oath, Mr. Dobbs asked his driver to take him to the hospital. Followed by a long line of security escorts, he arrived at the hospital and saw Eleonor laying in bed with dextrose on her arm and bandage all over her body. But she was able to talk. Mr. Dobbs approached her, look her straight in the eyes and asked: “woman, did you vote for me?”. “No”, Eleonor said.

Then he turned around and asked the same question to all the nurses, aids and doctors present inside the room. Everybody, except one, shook their heads.

From the hospital the convoy went straight to the venue of proclamation. From the entrance of the building Mr. Dobbs walks straight to the inauguration hall, amid flashes of cameras and shoving of microphones from impatient reporters dying to get a word from him. He stepped on the rostrum and started cracking jokes on why he was late to the delight of the audience. Then he kept quiet. For a brief moments there was an eerie silence inside the proclamation hall. Suddenly, he gave a deep sigh and in front of hundreds of guests and millions of people watching over the television, he made this shocking statement:

”My people, I wish to announce the discovery of a computer error during the last presidential election. Before I take my oath, I want a full investigation concerning this matter and possibly recounting of votes. Who knows, I may not even be the elected president of this country”

It follows that after recounting of votes, Mr. Dobbs’s political rival was eventually proclaimed as the winner. The top officials of the computer company were all prosecuted and jailed. Eleonor, the lady programmer, became a celebrity overnight. Mr. Dobbs returns to his TV show as comedian. His advisers and his whole camp criticized and called him the most stupid man they’ve ever met. But the true elected president and millions of people congratulated, admired and loved him. He was, in the eyes of everyone, a true patriot. Because of his honesty, glitch or no glitch, he will be the next president of the Republic. That is, if he is still around to run for the next presidential election. Usually, Patriots are always the best target for assassination.

There were actually two patriots in the story. I guess the reader knows who they are. But the movie is just a fiction. Nobody in this world or in his right state of mind would do what Mr. Dobbs did. Today, majority of our politicians and public officials are blinded by greed for money and hunger for power. They are prepared to lie, buy votes, rig elections, kill or be killed just to remain in power. They fought ferociously to the bitter end as if the government position they hold is their own, not of the people and by the people. It is a vicious cycle that continues to rule and control our political system and our Filipino way of living.

One columnist wrote that our present political leaders no longer deserve to be called “Honorable” because they are a disgrace to the Filipino people and the nation as a whole.

Our government has always been corrupt since it was first established in Kawit, Cavite. However, the degree of corruption is more distinct now than before. Unlike the past administrations, today public opinion no longer matters. Even if caught red-handed of wide-scale corruption, a public official (or their better half) will simply deny wrong-doing, fabricate lies- an insult to Filipino’s intelligence- or point a finger at somebody. It doesn’t matter if people will believe them or not. They would even retaliate by throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, at the whistleblower.

Some alarmists say our country may be suffering from the so called “curse of Quezon”. Before the fall of Bataan, Gen. Douglas Macarthur forcibly evacuated President Manuel Quezon to Australia against his will. Quezon was so mad at Macarthur that he said:

“I would rather see my country run like hell by Filipinos than run like heaven by foreigners”.

Had Quezon known that his wish would come true, he would probably retract his statement today.

I refused to believe that Filipino patriots are now an extinct breed. Somehow, someday, somebody would emerge to lead our people and our country to glory. I pray to god that at least before I leave this world, I could still see the likes of Jose Rizal, Gregorio Del Pilar, Apolinario Mabini, Andres Bonifacio and other gallant Filipino patriots and Heroes, and of course, the latest pride of our nation- the late Ninoy Aquino- who once said: “the Filipinos are worth dying for”.

-- END --

DINNER DATE

2009-02-20T21:58:00.000-08:00

After 21 years of marriage, I discovered a new way of keeping alive the spark of love.

A little while ago, I had started to go out with another woman. It was really my wife's idea.

"I know that you love her," she said one day, taking me by surprise.

"But I love YOU," I protested.

"I know, but you also love her," she said.

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three kids had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.

"What's wrong? Are you sick? Is there a problem?" she asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call and an unusual invitation is a sign of bad news.

"I just thought that it would be pleasant to pass sometime with you," I responded, determine to convince her that there was nothing into it except I just wanted to be with her.

She paused for a moment, perhaps thinking if I was really serious, then said, "I would like that very much."

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up, I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited at the door. She had her hair made from the beauty parlor and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel.

"I told my friends that I was going to out with you, and they were all impressed," she said as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear about our meeting."

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the first lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu as her eyes could only read large print.

Halfway through the entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw Mama sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips.

"It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said.

"Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor," I responded. During the dinner we had an agreeable conversation-nothing extraordinary- but catching up on recent events of each other's life.

We talked so much that we missed going to the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you." I agreed.

"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home.

"Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I answered. A few days later my mother died of massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her.

Some time later I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place Mother and I had dined. An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I was almost sure that I couldn't be there, but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates- one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I Love you."

At that moment I understood the importance of saying in time, "I Love You," and of giving our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than God and your family. Let them know you love them, because these things can not be put off till "some other time".

PERSONAL NOTES:

The above article is not my own but just copied from the book of "reflections", written by an unknown author. But I love to keep it in my personal file because it always remind me of my Mother. She was a martyr woman who went through extreme diffculties in life, trying to raise her 9 children while living with a polygamous husband. She died in bed, right in front of very eyes, while I was carressing her fore head, trying to comfort her while she went through the pain of gasping the last breath of her life. I missed her so much. The pain and sorrow that I felt was unimaginable. Up to this day, I still feel that I have not done enough to keep her remaining days on earth happy.

Indeed, you will never know how important is your mother in your life until you finally loses her. So say "I Love You" to her before it's too late.

-- END--

THE SAD STATE OF PHILIPPINE MARITIME EDUCATION - A FISH-BONE THEORY

2009-02-09T07:09:00.000-08:00

Actually, what I am writing is not something new. While we have earned the reputation as the world’s major suppliers of experienced and competent seafarers, the international shipping community continues to ridicule us for having one of the lowest qualities of maritime education in this part of the globe.

It is ironic that in spite of the hundred of thousands of graduates emanating from about a hundred or more maritime institutions scattered all over the country, we could not even fill up the worldwide shortage for marine deck and engine officers. The demand has far exceeded the supply, not that we are running short of seafarers ( we have an ample supply of ratings, i.e. ABs, OSs, Wipers, Oilers, etc.) but because there aren’t enough qualified seamen capable of moving up the rank to officers or engineers. Most of our maritime graduates remain unemployed years after completing the required curriculum. Some even gave up their hopes of becoming a seafarer and change to other field of work or profession. The lucky ones, however, gets hire as mess men or wipers if they happen to be a relative or a close friend of a well-experienced Deck or Engine officer and be endorsed as “Bit-Bit”, the colloquial term for an agreement of: “you hire me; you hire the person that I am with”. Owing to scarcity of qualified officers and engineers, most manning agencies succumbed to these requests just to meet their manpower requirements. Other than these, it would be next to impossible to find employment after graduation.

The rise in unemployment rate of maritime graduates is not due to lack of vessel or employer but the insufficient knowledge in seafaring. Ship owners just wouldn’t take the risk of employing these greenhorn sailors lest they be the primary cause of accidents and rise in marine insurance claims.

“The ship is not a school,” said one Japanese ship owner. “They join vessels not to start from the very beginning but to put everything they have learned into practice. If nothing was learn from school, there is no point taking them in as cadet officers or engineers”

The Filipino Association for Mariners Employment, inc. (FAME) conducted a maritime school assessment on 24 February 2007. Representatives from the private sectors took time to evaluate the various maritime schools all over the country. A uniform set of assessment materials were used to test the aptitude of sophomore maritime students. The Maritime Academy of Asia Pacific (MAAP) came out on top of the list. Other schools were far away behind. Unusually, the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) and PMI Colleges did not participate in the assessment program. Saying that they know their school well and doesn’t need other people to tell them their standard. This arose suspicions that they maybe hiding skeletons inside their closets.

In another occasion, a foreign shipping company, favoring Filipino seafarers than other nationalities, invited BSMT and BSME students who have completed the three-year CHED curriculum. A good number of applicants from four corners of the country showed up. The company gave qualifying exams to determine the standard and quality of graduates. Out of approximately 100 examinees, 10 successfully passed, 12 barely made the passing grade of 60 pct, while the rest failed. One even garnered a disgusting score of 8 out of a possible 100 correct answers. It also appeared that the most difficult subject to tackle with was maritime English, where only 5 examinees passed. Even more glaring was the fact that a great majority of examinees failed the I.Q. test. A sign of lack of control in the entry standard for maritime courses. Unlike the prestigious and high profile college degrees, BSMT and BSME, although a baccalaureate degree in nature, is still considered by many as technical-vocational courses where even morons can enroll so long as they can afford the tuition fees. Parents who find their boy less intellectual often say: “you’re too dull to be a doctor, lawyer or an engineer. Better take up nautical or marine engineering course”.

Perhaps, it’s about time that people change their perception about the marine profession. Those who think this profession is for the dumb and dim-witted, with bad study habits, aspiring for success the easy way, are making a mistake. Understanding the celestial sphere, solving the sides of a plane, quadrantal and right spherical triangle, learning the Pythagorean Theorem, Napier’s rule, Simpson’s rule, drawing a range of statistical stability, computing engineering, stability and stress problems are not just pieces of cake. You may be able to finish the course – especially if you religiously pay your matriculation fees or regularly contribute to your professor’s non-existence projects. But with nothing in your head, there is no way you can be allowed to even step on the vessel’s gang plank, much less given a chance to complete your 12 months shipboard training to qualify for PRC board exams.

Whether people will agree with me or not, the problem with our shipping and seafaring industry is political in nature. In the “fish-bone theory”, imagine a fish skeletal bone where the head is the main problem, the bones as the primary causes, ending up to the tail as the root causes:

Head

(1) Poor standard and quality of maritime graduates

Fish Bones

(2) Low level of education of enrollees, usually graduates of Secondary Education (High school), coupled by lack of entry standard among maritime Schools.
No less than Sec. Augusto Syjuco of TESDA acknowledged this problem when she urged the DepEd to “shape up”. Saying: “What DepEd is giving us are sub-standard products, students who are hard to teach because of weak foundation in their basic education” (See the Philippine Star, Sunday, September 9, 2007 issue).

(3) Maritime institutions operating under sub-standard conditions, i.e. inadequate equipment, out-dated instruments, dilapidated lecture rooms, facilities not conducive for learning, etc.

(4) Incompetent maritime professors/instructors - We have a saying in manning industry that if you pay peanuts; you get a monkey for a crew. In maritime education, however, if you pay similar compensation, what you get is not a monkey but an old, sickly baboon for a teacher, who happens to have a license and a 6.09 certificate.

(5) Lack of course compendium, course outlines, instructor's guides, nautical , engineering books, teaching aids, you name it. When an instructor is hired, he is normally told only of the subject he is to teach, then the school leaves him in limbo for the rest of the semester.

(6) Schools operating without a system, despite being ISO certified.

(7) Circumvention of CHED rules and regulations by school owners.

· Fish Tail

(8) Incapability of CHED to effectively monitor and regulate the operations of maritime institutions without support and assistance from the private sector, i.e. volunteering Master Mariners, Chief Engineers, maritime organizations, associations and private entities.

(9) The corrupt practices of various government agencies involved with maritime affairs, mixing politics with maritime education and ineptness of our political leaders to fully understand and address the problems besetting the local seafaring industry.

Our manning industry is facing a difficult challenge ahead. The Chinese and our Asian counterparts are now breathing on our shoulders in the race for supremacy in seafaring. They are slowly building up their pool of quality sea personnel; determine to un-seat us as one of the largest supplier of seaman in the world. We still maintain a slight headway because of our proficiency in the English language. But this precarious lead might soon be erased if our new sailors are so intellectually poor that they couldn't even define “Navigation”, or identify the color of “Port” from “Starboard” sidelight, much less construct a simple sentence in English.

I admire FAME and other private maritime organization for identifying the weaknesses in our maritime education system and for moving heaven and earth just to uplift the standard of Filipino seafarers. But I have less sympathy for CHED and other government agencies involved in maritime affairs that, since time immemorial, have continuously relied on the private sector to do their job for them.

The political appointees who continuously enjoy the sweet juices extracted from the maritime business but has no knowledge, whatsoever, about shipping and seafaring, and the kind of support and attention that our national government provides the maritime industry, does not give justice to the millions of dollars remitted by our seafarers and their significant contribution to the country’s economy.

A well-known maritime book writer and educator once said: “The solution to the problem is simple but cruel and painful and, owing to our culture of corruption, will most likely create an uproar and invite the stiffest opposition from all branches of our government. That is – appoint the best Master Mariners and Chief Engineers we have in this country, preferably with doctorate degree, to all government positions involved with Maritime affairs and Close down all maritime schools that could not transform into 3rd mates or 4th engineers” 50 pct of their graduates.

---END---

THE LEGACY OF AN OLD SEA DOG

2009-02-01T05:22:00.000-08:00

No one knows how and when the English dictionary started comparing an aged and seasoned Master Mariner to an old “sea dog”. Perhaps it is the nature of audacity, wisdom, navigating skills, cunning ability to adapt to the perilous sea environment and dominion over an entire sea craft and every soul on it that made this man worthy of such comparison.

This is a story of a man who has all the qualities of an “Old Sea Dog”. He reached the summit of his seafaring career through sheer hard work, courage and determination but failed miserably to live a happy and meaningful life. At the prime of his time he gained so much popularity and possessed all the wealth, power and authority that any man could ever imagine. A dominant figure in his own turf, he was both the envy and fear of his peers, subordinates and colleagues. While some admired him for his superior knowledge in shipping and for being multi-talented (he even cook and bake better than his chef), other hated him for being a womanizer, arrogant, authoritarian and habit of confronting anybody questioning his authority.

The chronicle of his life unfolded in a crowded slum in Cebu. A product of a broken family, both his parents remarried leaving him and a brother to tend for themselves. Living under a hostile environment, with nobody to give or seek advice from, he grew up as a neighborhood toughie. As a vagrant youth, he fell in love and with a young, refined lady, whose mother, a “Gantuangco”, is believed to be one of the heiresses to the entire Barrio Villadolid, Carcar, Cebu. Shunned by the woman’s family for his impolite character, poor upbringing and his constant involvement in street brawls, he left Cebu swearing to return and claim the love of his life but only after proving to the world his ability to succeed in his chosen profession.

He received his formal maritime education at Philippine Nautical School (PNS), now known as Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA), one of the first Maritime institutions in this country. It was in that same school where, owing to traditional hazing, he got his beating scar below the waste line, deformed middle finger and a split right toe. But knowing that he was in a point of no return he never gave up. He was determined to endure the tortures and pains inflicted by his superior and senior midshipmen who were all out to break him physically, mentally and morally. By his second year, he returned the favor and caused 2 of his juniors to quit. It was a vicious cycle of maritime education that separates the men from the boys, a practice that everyone believe continue to exist even up to this day. They said it was necessary to prepare the midshipmen for the grueling discipline of navigation and the complexities of seafaring.

The curriculum at that time was two years academe, where you earn a diploma of Associate in Nautical Science (ANS) and two years apprenticeship (cadetship), where you earn the right to sit for the Third Mate’s licensure exam, conducted by the then Bureau of Custom (the task of licensure exam was later transferred to the Philippine Coastguard (PCG) before it finally ended up with PRC).

Having completed his shipboard training, he took and easily passed his Third Mate exam. Several months later, he was already sailing on his first voyage as Marine Deck officer. It was when he passed his next licensure exam and was elevated to the rank of Second Mate that he decided to return to Cebu to claim his petite girlfriend. They got married despite stiff resistance from the girl’s parents.

He was already a licensed Chief Officer when the Second World War broke. Fearing that his vessel might no longer call Cebu (his ship’s home port is Manila) he relocated his family to San Jose, Del Monte, Bulacan, where one of his half-brother, a member of the USAFFE forces (caught by the Japanese and died at the death march), resides.

As hostilities at sea begun, the Japanese imperial Navy would shell or torpedo any vessel suspected of transporting arms and supplies. Thousands of domestic shipping tonnages went down the bottom. But despite the extreme danger to shipping, freighters continue to ply their trade, hiding in remote islands by day and traveling without running lights at night time. It was in December of 1943 that his vessel, a 3,000 tons freight ship (FS), hit a floating mine somewhere in Visayan Sea. For such as small vessel, thousand tons of cargoes and hundred of lives were lost (at the height of the war, owing to scarcity of sea craft, any vessel that set sail were fully laden with cargoes and passengers) including the Master who was unhurt but never left the bridge until it sunk (In those days it was common for a Master to go down with his ship). The young Chief Officer luckily survived the two days ordeal at sea, floating on a piece of lumber wood, in freezing waters, drinking his own urine, eating raw fish and anything that floats and can be swallowed (including cartons and fabrics). Fishermen picked him up, together with other surviving shipmates and passengers.

His wife and kids had given him up for dead when one day he appeared at the door step in the middle of the night, haggard and sporting a beard and long hair. His hungry family was both delighted and relieved to see him. They were on the verge of starvation. The constant evacuation to the hills every time fighting erupts at the town proper force them to live on sweet potatoes and root crops. It was a beholding sight to see him unloads from a waiting “Karitela” sacks of rice, canned goods, variety of fruits, several live chickens and a screaming hog tied in four legs. How he evaded the Japanese sentries was never known. Nevertheless, his wife asked him where he got the stocks.

“I took command of a pump boat from Cebu to the coast of Hagonoy. We carried armaments, supplies and armed troops. They have no money to pay me so I had to collect my dues from their cargoes”, he said.

He became a Master during the primitive years of seafaring when a Captain was the supreme authority onboard the ship. His word was the law. Even the owner can not question his decision or authority. He can order anybody shot, imprisoned onboard, thrown overboard or even conduct marriage and all he has to do is justify his actions once the vessel hit land. As the saying goes at that time: “the Master is always right, when he is wrong, he is still right”.

His association with government officials and well-known personalities in the maritime industry transformed him into a heavy drinker (The head of the coastguard, City Mayor and Chief of Police are just some of his drinking buddies). In port and at home the bottle is his constant companion. With his friends around, he can consume at least a bottle of whiskey in one sitting. He often drinks alone until the wee hours of the morning. “One plus one” (one jigger of whiskey with one pint of ice and water) was his usual order for mixing drink. Those who do not know him opined that his relentless drinking posed a risk to the safety of the vessel, passenger and crew. Surprisingly, a good Captain and navigator as he is, onboard his ship he never touch a single drop of alcohol.

The absence of modern bridge apparatus (radars were still a priceless piece of equipment) made navigation at that time a complex and intricate business. The most important piece of equipment on the bridge is the magnetic compass. Navigators were educated with the craft inherited from old Spanish Colonizers to negotiate the tricky and dangerous waters of the archipelago. In addition to piloting skills they were also trained to develop for navigation their four senses (seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling). They called it “Mata-mata and Amoy-Amoy” system. The old man in this story was considered one of the best in this primitive style of navigation. In the black of the night he can pin point with unusual accuracy the proximity of land from the vessel. The smell of mosses and vegetations and the quiet sounds of seas breaking the rocks is a warning to change course to the safe side – to where the fresh breeze is blowing. In the morning, he can tell you what kind of weather to expect that day or the following day by merely observing the behavior of sea gulls, fish and sea mammals, looking at the sky and feeling the air with his teeth and pores of his skin. You can never catch him off-guard during adverse weather conditions. He keeps his own barometer inside his cabin and frequently climbs the top of the bridge, even in heavy rain, to observe the wind and predict the movement of the typhoon himself. When a storm is south of his location, he would never risk sailing his vessel even if he gets the ire of the owner.

“Go find a captain yourself if you want this ship to sail in this kind of weather”, he told the ship owner who was demanding to keep the vessel’s schedule.

In those days it would be next impossible to be a deck officer, much less an “El Capitan”, if you cannot communicate in Spanish language. Masters, especially the ship owners, converse only in Spanish. The renowned Don Jose (Pepe) Fernandez, a Spaniard shipping magnate, who once owned one of the largest shipping companies in Philippine history, the Compania Maritima (CM) and its worldwide trading counterpart, the Maritime Company of the Philippines (MCP), developed a special liking for this Captain. He was appointed as the Port Captain of the entire fleet, a rank that carries an authority next to the owner. For years he took control of the entire company’s operations and significantly contributed to its prosperity. Before he came in, the company was suffering huge losses from cargo claims and damages. He implemented drastic measures by firing and apprehending people involved with cargo pilferage. Even his close friends and allies caught transshipping cargoes out of the warehouses were not spared. His enemies quadrupled in numbers. He regularly received life threatening letters, his service jitney was shot and tires punctured several times, but it never stop him from cracking down on the culprits.

At the height of the labor strike, he opted to side with the company while maintaining an open dialogue with union leaders. For him, it would be better to find a win-win solution than force the company to close down. The union leaders misunderstood his actions and branded him a traitor. When violence erupted in the pier, terrifying shippers and passengers, he was never intimidated. He employed several armed bodyguards, and brandishing a rifle and a side firearm threatened to shoot anybody who would dare prevent him from entering the port premises. From thereon, it was a usual sight to see him carrying a revolver where ever he goes. He was determined not to allow anybody disrupting the company’s operations. He protected the inflow of cargoes and passengers and supervised the loading himself. Officers and engineers who refused to sail were replaced. There was one time when the Master and the entire crew did not show up at the time of sailing. He transferred several officers and engineers (those who did not join the strike) from a nearby vessel that just arrived to the vessel about to sail, promoted several licensed ABs and oilers, hired some longshoremen who are non-union members and commanded the vessel himself. He was so frustrated with that incident that he, together with his loyal comrades, decided to establish the Marine Officers Association of the Philippines (MOAP), to “professionalize the profession”, he said. In his opinion, Masters, being the owner’s representative and in command of vessels, and his deck officers should have a separate identity and not just be controlled or influenced by a labor union. But as tough as he is, he was never known to have shot or pointed a gun at anybody. He left the company to serve as pilot in Davao full of resentment against Don Pepe who never gave him a single centavo to honor his contribution to the growth of the company. Years after he left, the company collapsed and went bankrupt.

But whatever riches and success he may have attained in life was obscured by his inability to earn the love and respect of his family. At one point in his career, he made bold and unwise decisions that would forever change the course of his life. He became a pervert and compulsive womanizer, engaged in polygamous marriage, took in several wives and sired numerous siblings. Worst, he even provided each family housing, property and distributed his wealth according to the size of the family.

As his children grew in number (18 all and all and some others which he did not acknowledge as his own) so was the great responsibility to raise and support all of them.

“Don’t place your heart on your dick” said a protégé, a closed cousin, who was also a Master Mariner, then a Pilot in port of Manila. “If you want meat, why purchase a whole cow when you can buy it in kilos?”. His advice remained unheeded.

His wife by the first marriage was the first to react. She felt betrayed that after living in puberty and difficult times together, he has now taken not one but several women for his wife. Thus, the heated arguments whenever he is in the house became more and more frequent. It finally ended up in physical conflicts and legal court battles. After retirement, he developed a lingering illness and returned to settled down with this wife.

“Indeed, no matter how long is the procession, it always end up inside the church”, said the wife. “Now that nobody wants him, he is finally mine”.

Though the wife accepted and took care of him while he was bedridden, he was never really forgiven for his unfaithfulness, even until his death.

His own children likewise despised him not only for the pains and sufferings that he caused to their mother but also his open display of infidelity, harsh discipline, uttering of abusive language, compelling people to vacate the house when he is mad and constantly reminding the kids that they owe him their lives.

“Even if you grind yourself to pieces, it wouldn’t be enough to pay your debts to me”, was his words whenever he gets mad. It was as if his only responsibility was to bring his children out into this world. Anything more is already doing them a favor.

Perhaps he was thinking that being the sole breadwinner gives him the right to say or do anything he pleases. What he did only alienated him from his children and spawned antipathy among them.

The two saddest moment of his life was when his own mother died. It was the first time that his family saw him cried for many days, even in his sleep. The next was when his house was gutted by fire where he lost everything, including the priceless memorabilias of his life’s achievement.

As his children grew older, they became more open-minded and begun to accept the shortcomings of their father. They all realized that he maybe a difficult man to live with but he was always a good provider who never fails to bring home the bacon. He toiled to provide dwellings and education for his children who, without exceptions, are now experts and specialist in their own field of profession.

“It was like throwing us into water, so we would all learn how to swim”, said the eldest daughter, who is a successful dental surgeon. “In a way, it was cruel but it did do the trick”.

“Love and respect cannot be bought nor demanded. It has to be earned”, said a son, the second to the eldest, a licensed Marine Chief Engineer, who died shortly after he did.

“Although we never felt it, I think he cared for all of us” said a daughter, the 3^rd from the eldest, a summa cum laude graduate of BSE, who holds a doctorate degree and now heads the science department of a well known university. “Perhaps, it was the only way he knows how to raise a family”.

“Sometimes you need to be cruel to be good”, said another son, the 4^th from the eldest, who is a veterinarian and holds a key position in one government institution. “Indeed, because of what he did, we grew up strong, independent and succeeded in life”.

“I can not totally blame him for his infidelity and for the way he treated his children. We have to understand that he grew up under that kind of environment”, said another daughter, the 6^th from the eldest, who is the head nurse of a prestigious hospital.

“He may not be a perfect father, but we owe him the success that we are enjoying today”, confessed a daughter, the 7^th from the eldest, a graduate of business management who now operates a maritime training center.

“Indirectly, he taught us the best lesson of our lives- not committing the same mistake as he did”, remarked a son, the 8^th Child, who is an accountant and a custom examiner.

"It made us a one woman man", chuckled the youngest son, the 9^th and last among his first group of offspring, who is now a shipping manager.

It is ironic that up to the last moment of his life, he never did found the key to happiness. He kept searching, to the point of demanding, for love but found it very elusive. Had he known that it is by giving love that he will be loved and respected in returned, perhaps the finale stage of his life would not have close in such a poignant ending.

Like a sun that has descended below the celestial horizon signaling the end of an evening twilight, he finally made his grand exit from life leaving behind a disillusioned and not-so-forgiving families and a shipping world with one less good master mariner. In his epitaph they wrote: “An old sea dog who left a legacy that span as far as Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. May his soul rest in peace”.

Wondering why I knew so much about this man? Well, I was the 5^th child and he was my father, the late Capt. Emilio Y. Alviola, and this is his legacy.

----END----

THE DOOMED PRINCESS OF THE STARS

2009-01-31T08:11:00.001-08:00

PRINCESS OF THE STARS – A LESSON TO BE LEARNED?

The luckless 23,824 tons cargo-passenger ferry, “Princess Of The Stars”, the nations largest passenger sea craft, set sail evening of 20 June 2008, a Friday. It was to be her final voyage to obliteration. She capsized and sunk off the Coast of Sibuyan Island, bringing down with her 800 or more passengers (manifested and unmanifested) and crew.

The end came in the morning of 21 June 2008 or several hours after sailing. She was battered by violent winds, high and confused seas spawned by typhoon “Frank”, crossing the center of the archipelago, heading towards the main island of Luzon. The master, sensing that he was in the middle of a storm; raced to find a safe shelter for his ship. It was both a futile and fatal effort. As her poop deck is lifted into the air by mountainous swell, she lost power from both engines. In seafaring, losing engine power in the middle of a severe weather disturbance is the worst thing that can happen to a vessel. Like a sitting duck, she will now be totally at the mercy of the storm. It follows that she was pushed into the rocks, damaged her propeller, bore a hole on her tunnel shaft, resulting to ingress of sea water inside the engine room. Again, in shipping, sea water entering the engine room is a time to take emergency measures. There is very little hope that she can be saved, unless, of course, if you plug the hole before it floods the entire engine room. I have seen vessels suffering a hole on her hull and superstructures and still manage to reach port, but I have yet to see one with flooded engine room and survive a disaster.

No one can brag that they would have acted differently if they were the Master of the hapless “Princess of the Stars”, especially if they were not a privy to the chain of events that led to the disaster. But for purposes of discussion let us retrace what went wrong, not to dwell on the fault of the master but to enhance our knowledge and awareness on the perils of the sea and see if can learn something out of this tragic event.

To start with, the common rule in storms is that, whether a typhoon’s behavior is predictable or erratic, you DON’T NAVIGATE TOWARDS ITS DIRECTION, especially if you’re located NORTH of the weather phenomena. This is because storms originating from South Pacific usually start moving on a Westerly direction. Then, like making a clockwise loop, slowly swings to North West, North, North East and eventually dissipate somewhere in North Pacific. You simply avoid the storm, as far as possible and as practicable. If in port, you stay where you are, triple your lines (use wire rope if possible) or proceed to a safe anchorage, drop both anchors, pay out enough anchor shackles and ride out the storm. If you have a wide sea room, say, in the middle of the ocean, you keep a good distance, stop or slow down engine or turn around if necessary, and let the eye of the storm pass by (not applicable to the ill-fated “Princess of the Stars” which lost engine power in confined waters). Stability is of vital importance. Provided all ballast tanks are full (without being over draft), compartments are watertight, and provided further that all cargoes are tightly lashed and secured, no amount of waves or swell can capsize a vessel with sufficient, positive, Metacentric Height (GOM). The law of stability provides a righting lever (GZ) that keeps the vessel upright when incline to one side by external force.

“PAGASA is crazy. They are just guessing”, allegedly uttered by the master before the sinking. The legal counsel of Sulpicio Lines is filing a case against the weather bureau for gross negligence. To say that PAGASA erred in forecasting the weather, causing “Princess Of The Stars” to be caught in the middle of the storm, is a dim-witted, malicious accusation. In the first place, we learned from school and through experience not to rely solely on weather reports and storm warnings. We make use of all weather equipment/instruments available onboard, study and predict the weather ourselves. A good knowledge of Meteorology and laws of the storms is a big advantage. For instance, a rapid decreased in barometer readings of 5mb/hpa or more below normal, an appreciable change in the direction and strength of wind, a long low swell, presence of fast-moving. Low-laying, broken formations of cumulous clouds, provides little doubt that a storm is heading towards your area. Seeing these signs is a signal to take avoiding actions. To decide the best course of action, the following knowledge is necessary:
(1) The bearing of the center of the storm;
(2) The path of the storm

The exact route of the storm is difficult to predict even with the most sophisticated weather instrument available on this planet. This is precisely the reason why a navigator should not attempt to travel southward towards the direction of the storm even if it seems to follow a path away from the vessel. There is always strong possibility that it will recurve to the North, heading towards the observer (similar to what typhoon “Frank” did). The center, however, can be determined by the application of Bouys Ballot Law – Face the wind and the center of the storm is 90° to 135° towards your right. As a rule, the nearest an observer is to the center the more nearly does the angle approach 90°.

Onboard the ship I was like a man possessed every time I encounter a typhoon. I climb to the flying bridge (above the wheelhouse deck), extend my left arm and hand forward pointing towards the wind direction and my right arm and hand straight over my side simulating a 90° angle. After repeating similar ceremony, I was able to locate the position of my opponent (the storm) and predict where it is passing.

The eye itself is calm and tranquil in nature, with no wind at all. You may even see the sun shining. But watch out, once it passes, you will feel the most ferocious wind and monstrous waves from a reverse direction that you could ever imagine, something you pray never to experience again.

In the above satellite photo, notice that “Princess of the stars” was actually located in the Dangerous Semi-circle (the right side of the path of the storm). A storm, while on its travel path, makes an anti-clockwise, spiral motion towards its eye, sucking everything on its right side, like a whirlpool of water draining from a bath tub after pulling out the plug. This means that even if she has kept her engines running the whole time, she will still be pushed and sucked by the wind and swell towards the center. She was doomed from the time she made rendezvous with typhoon “Frank”.

In the rule for storms, if it becomes apparent that you will be caught along its path, run as fast as you can towards the Navigable Semi-circle (left side of the storm). Place the wind on your starboard quarter and you will gain steerageway and be pushed away from the center (eye). Whether the master was aware of this rule and made such efforts to run to the other side will never be known.

There were reports that some passenger ferries diverted to Puerto Galera. It was a wise decision. The island of Mindoro was then located at the Navigable Semi-circle of the storm.

As of this writing, everyone’s pointing a finger at each other. A usual scenario whenever a shipping disaster occurs.

First, Pagasa is blame for its poor weather forecasting and its failure to raise a proper storm signal (as early as Friday afternoon or a few hours before all large vessels sailed from port of Manila, US weather observatory already predicted that the storm will pass close to metro Manila) on time. Next, MARINA is also blame for failing to regulate domestic shipping in times of adverse weather conditions. Another co-accuse is the Philippine Coast Guard for allowing the vessel to sail. However, all three government agencies and some government officials are now united in pointing an accusing finger at the ship owner and the master. I am sure Sulpicio Lines will soon wash hands to protect their franchise (threatened to be revoked) and declare that it was the master’s poor judgment that caused the fatal accident. The poor master, who is probably still underneath the bottom of the sea, being devoured by all kinds of fish, is unaware that he is the lone culprit.

In my past articles on shipping disasters, I have always criticized the way our government handles safety in shipping. Every time a sea mishap occurs every body blames the master. But who gave him the license to command? Who gave him the clearance and forced him to sail? Who inspected the vessel prior to sailing to ensure its stability and seaworthiness? If these are all the fault and responsibility of the master, we might as well accept the reality that the lives of passengers and crew lies solely on the hands of a single person, the one in command. If this is the case, where does the culpability of the state come in? Why bother to inspect the vessel, count the number of passengers, issue certificates and clearances if the only purpose is to generate income for the government and not to protect the safety of the riding public? The case of “Princess Of the Stars” will have more questions than answers.

Since time immemorial, I have said, time and again, that whenever a major sea disaster occurs DOTC, PRC, MARINA, COASTGUARD, SHIPOWNER and, off course, the MASTER (notice that I did not include PAGASA), should all be held accountable. They are all there to take responsibility and not pass the buck on some body. Each one played a vital role in regulating and controlling our domestic shipping industry. When you a lost a basketball game you don’t blame only the coach, but everybody playing in the team.

The meddling of too many government agencies and encroachment of politicians in maritime affairs, with no knowledge at all about the intricacies of shipping and seafaring, is a frank reminder that something is really wrong with our government. It is unfortunate that our political leaders thought these agencies are just ordinary government offices that can be handled and supervised by mere political appointees. Unless this perception is change and until the government realize that it is about time to set politics aside and leave shipping and seafaring to maritime experts, disasters in Philippine waters will continue to occur.

Sometime ago, I requested a Bataan congressman to propose a bill creating a Marine Safety Board, under a single National Safety Agency, which would be one of the umbrella organizations of DOTC. It would be made up of experienced Master Mariners, Chief Engineers, Naval Architects and Maritime Lawyers. Its task is to handle and regulate all activities and affairs pertaining and related to shipping and seafaring, particularly maritime safety and security. If the bill is passed, it will clip the powers and lessen the involvement of DOTC, MARINA and the Philippine Coastguard (including their function on Port State Control (PSC) inspections) in maritime affairs. The naive congressman has been sitting on my 12 pages proposal for 4 years now.

I may be barking at the wrong tree, but I will continue to howl and make noise until the whole nation realizes the sad state of our domestic shipping. While we are one of the world’s largest suppliers of seafarers, we are also branded as the shipping disaster capital of the globe. They have reason to, for we hold the unbroken record for the world’s worst peace time maritime disaster – the sinking of Dona Paz in December of 1989, where more than 4,000 lives were lost. Are we now going to sit down again and wait for the next tragedy to happen?

Finally, allow me to extend my sincere and deepest condolences to the bereaved families whose love ones perished in the sinking of “Princess of The Stars”.

*** END ***

MY CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH THE AQUATIC KIND

2008-09-21T03:45:00.000-07:00

By: Capt. Victor Y. Alviola

Once in awhile we experience extraordinary event in our lives that retains in our memories for a long time, sometimes even forever. The sad and traumatic happenings we try to forget, the memorable and nostalgic memories we love to reminisce and recall to find respite from the pressures and intricacies of daily living.

One incident that I couldn't forget was my close encounter with the largest known aquatic mammal. A sperm whale.

The year was 1969. I had just acquired my license as 3rd officer and sailing as one for the first time. My ship was MV “ Isla Verde” (long been scrapped), a 5,000 tonner reefer vessel plying the Mindanao – Japan route, owned and operated by the defunct Maritime Co. of the Philippines (MCP). It was one of the legions of the so called “banana boats” exporting green bananas and other fresh produces to Japan at the height of the country’s Asian domination of the fruit market.

I could not exactly recall the date, but remembering the scorching heat of the sun, it must have been the peak of summer when the unusual incident occurred.

After discharging bananas in Yokohama, Japan the vessel headed back to Mindanao to load a shipment of fresh pineapples.

It was on my watch when the island of Camiguin appeared two points from the port bow. As I methodically took positions and adjusted the heading to keep the vessel on the course line, the island came closer and was almost abeam on port side.

At 1130 hours, I took a cross bearing of land marks, plotted it on the chart, and set the new course of 175 degrees heading towards Bogo, Cagayan De Oro.

The sea was extremely calm. A moderate breeze was blowing. It was our sixth day of sailing and I thought maybe the day, just like any ordinary days, would again end boring and monotonous. My talkative quartermaster was singing and whistling to the tune of “Guantanamera”, perhaps trying to overcome the boredom of steering the vessel for almost 4 hours (auto-pilot was still a luxury at that time).

At 1145 hours, I decided that it was about time to start filing up the logbook for completion of my watch. Before entering the chart room, I lifted the set of binoculars and started scanning the horizon. Except for some dolphins diving and jumping playfully across the bow, as if trying to overtake the vessel, and several large whale near the bow, rhythmically diving and surfacing the water, spewing water into the air every time it surface, the sea was clear of traffic and obstruction. Not even a single out-triggered canoe (banca) was around.

Since time immemorial, Bohol Sea, particularly the sea area around Camiguin Island has been a favorite feeding ground for large aquatic predators and sea mammals. They made a habitat out of the area owing to abundance of small fishes and marine growth. But, unlike when I was still a cadet when everything that moves on the surface of the water amuses me, the sight of a school of dolphins and a large sea mammal no longer deserved a second look.

Moments later, my wheelman burst excitedly, “ 3rd” ( during our time, subordinates address their superior by their rank) “my malaking isda sa pro-wa!”. He was referring to a whale dead ahead, obviously the same whale that I saw prior to my entering the chartroom.

“Sagasaan mo” (run over it), I shouted back, annoyed by his interruption.

Ordering to run over the whale was actually only my mode of expression to avoid further conversation with my wheelman. I lost the mood to talk. It was almost noontime, the second mate is late, and I was already feeling hungry. After all, how can a ship run over a swimming whale?

At 1155 hours, as the second mate and his wheelman step on the bridge, the vessel suddenly felt a violent jerk and a shudder, as if something solid touched the bottom. Thereafter, her entire superstructure started shaking and trembling, like a person experiencing a sudden attack of epilepsy. The stern portion was also vibrating heavily indicating damage to the propeller. The Master, who was at that time taking his lunch, runs up the bridge.

“What happen?” He was questioning the second mate who was also unaware of what just happened. Not getting any answer, the Master turned to me.

“Third Mate, did you hit a floating log?”

“No, sir, not logs, I think we hit a whale”, I replied, still confident that I saw nothing that could endanger the safety of the vessel.

Unfortunately, my helmsman, who has just been relieved and was suppose to support my story, was seemingly shocked and just remained standing in one corner of the bridge.

“That’s absurd”, the Master barked, “How can you hit a whale?”

He then pick up the binoculars and focus it towards the sea area around the stern. I took a second binocular and face the same direction.

As I scan the bubbling wake of the vessel, I saw something peculiar and anxiously reported,

“Captain I see a discoloration of water far stern, I think it is the remnants of the whale”.

“ I see it too, but I think it’s the bark of logs”, the Master remarked, still unconvinced with what I reported.

“But to be sure, let’s turn the ship around”.

The helmsman was then ordered to put the rudder hard to starboard and headed towards the direction of the discolored water.

As the vessel approaches the murky spot in the water, the engine was put into dead slow. Then Lo! my whale theory was proven correct. As we enter the perimeter of the glossy circle, the blue sea suddenly tuned to red and redder as we move towards the middle. On the center of what was now a bloody red circumference, pieces of meat carcasses and intestines were scattered and floating everywhere. Then I spotted a huge bulging object protruding from the water. It was half submerged and floating on an almost vertical position. The large bulky head was on the surface, while the tail and half of its body was under the water.

“Capt, I see the whale, a little to port bow,” I reported, gasping with excitement.

For a moment, the Captain was stunned. It was his first major sea accident. A collision with, of all objects, a live sea mammal. For that matter, it was also the first experience of such kind of mishap for all of us.

For a while the master was contemplating on what to do next. He finally regained his composure and gave the order:

“Standby all deck hands. Let’s get that whale onboard, we have a damage propeller, nobody will believe us if we don’t have the evidence”.

I was instructed to move to the bridge’s port wing to monitor the distance of the dead whale from the ship’s side (hull). Thereafter, he (captain) rung the engines telegraph to “stop”, then to “half astern” and gave series of helm’s order to the wheelman.

I was on the port wing, bending over the side to estimate the distance of the whale, when the entire half of the whale’s body and tail suddenly appeared from the surface. It was now floating on a horizontal position, and seems to be moving slowly away from the vessel.

“Was it still alive?” I whispered to myself.

After more helm’s order and engine maneuver the Captain asked for the location of the whale.

“A few yards to the side Capt, near hatch number no 3” I reported, after making a quick estimate (the vessel has 4 hatches).

“Let me know once it touches the side”. The Master ordered, simultaneously ringing the engine telegraph to “full stop”

I watch closely as the vessel inch closer to the floating carcass. As it was about to touch the side of hatch no. 4, just in front of the bridge. I saw something very strange. The whale was indeed floating and moving on a horizontal position, not that it was still alive, but because two other whales underneath, one on top of the other, on a crisscross position, were keeping it afloat.

Later, I would learn from many books about whales how marine scientists are fascinated by their superior intelligence, human-like behavior, closely knitted society and why they always prefer to die along the beach. Perhaps it was their normal animal instinct because they once roamed the lands of the earth as a herd before they lost their legs and transformed into sea mammals during the time of evolution. Were the two whales underneath trying to bring their dead colleague ashore?

As soon as the side of the ship touched the whale carcass, the two assisting whales dived under the water leaving their dead comrade on the surface. Thereafter, the dead whale’s tail and half of its body sunk under the water and it was again floating on a semi-vertical position. I remained silent for a while before reporting to the Master.

“Capt, the whale is alongside. There it is”, pointing with my finger its exact location.

Meanwhile, it was like having a major festivity on board. The entire deck, steward and half of the engine crew were all on main deck curiously looking over the side at the floating dead whale.

“Bosun tell your men to rig no. 4 derrick and cargo runner. We are going to load that whale onboard”, the Master ordered from the public loud speaker.

One fearless AB installed a shackle, made a “loop” out of the cargo runner and jumped into the water. Then he climbed on top of the whale and inserted the looped wire over its head. As he gave the finger signal to heave up, he jumped back into the water to extricate himself from the dangerous sling. As the single derrick and wire lifted the heavy whale, the vessel tilted to port side and the wire broke.

“Use two derrick wires”, the Master barked from the same loud speaker. “That thing is too heavy”.

While everyone was busy preparing a second derrick and sets of wires, something weird happened. It was the most horrifying sight that I've witness in my entire life. A group of about 30 to 40 whales has formed a circle around the ship. It was like a merry-go-round of whales where the center is the vessel. They swam up and down and blow water into the air in a rhythmic and synchronized fashion while circling in a clockwise motion around the vessel.

“Captain, look around us”, I nervously whispered to the Master who has now transferred to the port side wing to watch how the deck people are doing.

The Captain raised his head and turned his body around in 360 degrees direction, closely observing the bizarre scene. He too was amazed with what he saw. He watched in silence then started murmuring words barely audible even to himself.

“I don’t think they will attack us. I think they just want to make sure that we won’t leave this dead one behind”. He said, almost whispering.

In retrieving the dead whale, two daring seamen jumped into the water. The first one inserted a lopped wire over its head; the second AB dived under the water and place another looped wire into its tail. This time the strategy worked. The two derricks was finally able to lift the dead whale on deck, but not without the frightful moments of watching the vessel tilting heavily to one side, as if about to capsize, while the weight was in mid air.

The Captain was right about the circling pod of whales. They were gone as soon we loaded their dead mate on board.

Owing to its huge elongated head, pointed chin and saber-sharped teeth, we opined that it was a sperm whale. It was lying cross-wise on main deck. Its head resting over the port side railings, body on top and over hatch cover no. 4 and tail over and above the starboard side railings. I took its measurement and it was 75 feet long (the vessel is only 50 feet wide), about 7 feet high from the top of the highest point of the head ( one can practically be obscured from sight if he stand on the other side) and sloping down to 3 feet on the tail. Since it took two 25 tons capacity wires to lift it on deck, it must have weighed around 40-50 tons. There were three deep wounds on its stomach, caused by the vessel’s propeller blades. We inspected the inside of its abdomen and found so many sizes and varieties of fish. Some are still alive, others already half digested. As we probe deeper inside its belly we also found old shoes, beer and soft drinks bottles, assorted cans, plastic materials, and other kinds of refuse (no bones or skeleton were found). Whales, when feeding, are known to suck everything on its path. Perhaps our whale was busy swallowing fishes and garbage that it failed to notice an incoming vessel.

A while later, with vibrating propellers, we resumed our interrupted voyage to Bogo, Cagayan De Oro. The Master sent the following cabled message to the company:

“ AT/12 NOON TDY/VSL HIT WHALE STOP FEAR DAMAGE TO/PROP STOP WHALE NOW/ON BOARD STOP REQST DIVER FOR INSPECTION N/REPAIR OF/PROP STOP PLS ADVS WHAT TO/DO WITH/D WHALE.”

The company replied: “NTD/UR RPRT STOP WL/ARRNG DIVER/ON ARRIVAL BOGO STOP U/CAN DO WHAT U/WANT WITH D/WHALE”.

On arrival Bogo, Cagayan De Oro, we were met by curious on-lookers. Obviously, news have spread around that we have a dead whale on board. Right after docking the Master called me up to his cabin to formally inform me that I am to take charge of the whale.

“It’s your whale”, he said. “Try to get rid of it tomorrow. We might proceed to the dockyard to have the propeller fix”.

The next morning I was in the city proper looking for the biggest fish dealer. I was introduced to a Chinese trader buying large size fishes for P1.00 per kilo. In broken Chinese-Visayan accent he asked how much I am selling the fish. I made a quick calculation and said, “P 40,000” (huge amount of money during that time). He looked at me in the face, perhaps trying to decipher if I was joking.

“Why? What kind of fish is it and how many are they?” The Chinese trader asked.

“Only one”, I replied, “A 75 feet sperm whale, weighing about 40,000 kilos”.

He was momentarily shocked. Then he looked up the ceiling, as if searching for an answer, shook his head and turned to his assistance, who was listening nearby, for advice.

“It’s too big Sir, just too big. We can’t handle that”, said the assistant.

I was hoping I could sell the whale for a good price and divide the money among the crew, but I returned onboard empty handed and disappointed. On deck I saw the Bosun entertaining several local residents. Leading the group was a Barangay chairman. They offered to buy the whale for P300. The Bosun pointed to me as its owner. As they approach me, I asked what are they going to do with the whale. The Barangay Chairman explained that there are so many starving indigenous people in their area. Some are men, but majority are women and children. They came down from the mountain to escape the carnage of war between the “Ilaga” (Visayan term for government-backed civilian forces) and MILF forces.

"They are starving and we just cannot afford to feed them anymore", pleaded the Barangay Captain.

After consulting the crew, we all agreed to donate the whale for the indigenous people. The derricks were again rigged; it lifted and dropped the whale into the water where fleets of small fishing boats are waiting. And like Gulliver (Gulliver’s travel) captured by the dwarfs, they tied the whale from all sides and towed it to the shore amid cheers of happiness and clapping of hands from the mammoth crowd lining up along the coast.

Curios about my whale, I strolled along the beach to observe how the indigenous people are doing. No one seemed to notice my presence. As I approach the scene of commotion, a familiar face emerged from the crowd and came to greet me. It was the Barangay Chairman. He held my hand, announced to the crowd that I was the donor of the whale, and gave me a tour of the beach. Despite the announcement, no one bothered to even glance at me. Everyone were busy looking for plates, pans and any kind of container for the forthcoming meal.

I watched as Barangay volunteers distributed chunks of whale meat to hungry refugees lining up in a queue. Despite their sunken faces and starving looks everyone seemed to be in a festive mood. They have all the reason to. It was the first time they will be having a decent meal after weeks of living in alms and left-overs provided by the similarly poor but kind-hearted town people. Each family lighted their own fire and started roasting their share of whale’s meat. A small, skinny, black, dirty boy, naked from waist down, jumping up and down with joy, was holding a piece of roasted whale’s meat with his left hand while devouring another piece with his right (whale meat taste like beef).

In one make-shift tent, a dark, skinny woman was swallowing pieces of cooked whale's meat at a fast pace, as if afraid that someone would steal her meal, while breast-feeding a skeletal, malnourished child. Perhaps, she thought her speedy intake of nourishment could produce immediate milk for her baby.

In another touching scene, a thin, pale-looking mother was hand-feeding a weak and frail child on her lap with the meat. She raised her head as I pass by and gave me a wry smile, as if thanking me for saving her child and the rest of her family from an impending starvation.

Something struck deep inside me. I suddenly realized that there was a purpose for hitting that whale. Perhaps, it was a divine intervention - the hand of the Lord working in a mysterious way. Obviously, I said to myself, somebody’s prayer must have been answered.

I left the scene teary-eyed and with a smile on my face, thankful that I wasn't able to sell the whale to the Chinese trader.

At sundown they were still slicing the mid portion of the whale. They continued cutting the meat throughout the night, under the light of the full moon sky and blaze of bon fires. The sun was already high above the horizon the following morning when they finally called it a day.

At mid-day the beach was completely deserted. Only the skeletal remains of the whale was left for the scavenging birds and stray dogs. The community retreated upland, in the woody area of the coast, where they established campsites, hanged and dried under the sun their unused meats for future meals. There was now enough food for the entire tribe to survive for at least a few days.

Up to this day, I am still wondering if I did witness a miracle. Looking back at that spectacular event, especially the two assisting whales and the large group encircling the vessel, as if making sure that the whale’s meat would reach the shore, I wonder if GOD gave that whale and used me as an instrument to feed hundreds of hungry mouths - the “least of the Lord's brethren”.

Then again, if that phenomenon was indeed heaven's handiwork, it was still nothing compared to how JESUS feed Nine Thousand men, not counting women and children, with only several loaves of bread and a few fish. MATTHEW 14, 17-21 & 15, 34-38

---END---