Jinggoy wants MV Baleno 9 owner on BI watch list

A senator on Tuesday urged the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to place on its watch list the owner of the ill-fated passenger vessel Baleno 9 that sank off Batangas province a day after Christmas, killing at least six people. Senate Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy" Estrada said his office received information that Patrick Ang, owner of Besta Shipping Lines, is planning to leave the country. “I am asking BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan to take special attention on the case of Mister Ang and not allow him to leave the country to escape prosecution," Estrada said. Ang could not be reached for his comment. On Monday, he went to the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) but refused to face the media. Ang promised to provide the victims’ families with financial assistance amounting to P200,000 each, according to Marina administrator Maria Elene Bautista. He likewise promised to shoulder the burial expenses of those who died in the sea tragedy. Estrada said the government could help out and ease the pain of the victims by ensuring that all those who are responsible for it are brought behind the bar of justice. “So many tragic events had happened in the past year, and while we can not bring back the lives that were lost and dreams that were shattered, the least we can do is ensure that those who are responsible are punished accordingly," he said. MV Baleno 9 was bound for Batangas City from Calapan City in Mindoro when it sank, two days after another passenger vessel, the MV Catalyn B, sank off the coast of Maragondon town in Cavite. Commander Troy Cornelio, the head of the Philippine Coast Guard in Batangas, said MV Baleno 9 sank after it was hit by big waves. Sixty-six persons were rescued by a passing vessel of the Montenegro Shipping Lines, Coast Guard, Batangas police and personnel from Besta Shipping Lines. Authorities cannot ascertain how many passengers were on board MV Baleno 9 because of discrepancies in the passenger manifesto submitted to the Coast Guard. During a Senate hearing on the incident last week, maritime officials admitted that MV Baleno 9 was not designed to sail on open seas. - KBK, GMANews.TV