Sulpicio given 90 days to retrieve bodies, fuel, endosulfan from ship

MANILA, Philippines - A task force overseeing government response in the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy on Tuesday gave Sulpicio Lines Inc. a 90-day deadline to complete the retrieval of bodies still trapped inside the capsized ship, as well as the bunker fuel in the ship's engine and the endosulfan shipment. Transportation Undersecretary Elena Bautista, head of the task force, said she rejected Sulpicio's initial timetable of five to six months to get the job done, saying the agony of relatives of the victims should not be prolonged for humanitarian purposes. "Out of humanitarian reasons huwag natin pahirapan ang ating kababayan sa Pasko makukuha ang katawan ng kanilang kamaganak (Out of humanitarian reasons, I told them not to prolong the agony of the victims' relatives all the way to Christmas)," Bautista said at a briefing aired on dzBB radio. Bautista also said she gave Sulpicio up to Wednesday to submit the name of its salvage contractor in re-floating the ship. During the briefing, Bautista said that when she met with Sulpicio representatives, they gave an initial proposal of 164 days, or five-and-a-half months, for the salvaging of the ship which she said was unacceptable. "Hindi katanggap-tanggap (Unacceptable)," she said. "Balikan nila ang plano nila, kung maari 90 days (I told them to review their plans. I wanted the job done in 90 days if possible)," she added. Also, Bautista said the task force is open to having the ship towed nearer shore so the endosulfan, bunker fuel, and bodies can be retrieved. Bautista said after Sulpicio Lines finalizes acquiring the services of a firm for the salvaging of the capsized ship, they will then draw up a salvage plan, which will be submitted to the International Maritime Organization in London. When asked what government would do if Sulpicio abandoned the ship, Bautista said government will do the salvaging as a "last resort," but Sulpicio will shoulder the expenses in any case. "Kung gagawin natin yan sisingilin natin sila. Sana di umabot doon (If they will do that, we'll bill them. I just hope it will not come to that)," Bautista said. Meanwhile, Bautista said their tests on the water samples taken from the ship so far indicates no endosulfan contamination. - GMANews.TV