CAGAYAN DE ORO — Over 300 individuals were on board when a passenger-cargo vessel capsized in Basilan province on early Monday, January 26. A concerned Mindanao-based group called for accountability from the shipping firm and concerned government agencies.

The Muslim Lawyers of Zambasulta (MLZ) stressed the importance of risk mitigation, as people in the islands, including in Mindanao, have been reliant on maritime travel. Two members of the group, including its president, were among the passengers of the sunken M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 operated by the Aleson Shipping Lines Incorporated.

Zambasulta refers to areas comprising Zamboanga City and the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. 

The ferry reportedly left Zamboanga City on the evening of January 25 bound for Jolo, Sulu, and it sank off Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan.

According to authorities, as of January 27, 18 individuals were reported dead. Ten others reportedly remain missing, consisting of eight crew, the ferry captain, and one personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). 

“When tragedies happen repeatedly, they cease to be mere accidents and become failures of responsibility,” MLZ said in a statement, recalling previous incidents involving ferries operated by the same shipping company.

In 2023, the passenger-cargo M/V Lady Mary Joy 3 of the Aleson Shipping Lines caught fire while traversing the vicinity waters off Baluk-Baluk Island. The incident took the lives of 33 individuals.

M/V Danica Joy 2 of the same shipping firm also capsized in Zamboanga port in September 2016 after it docked. There was no casualty since the passengers already disembarked before it sank.

Lawyer Aquino Sajili, MLZ president, survived the recent incident with no serious injuries. However, the trauma remains given their situation at sea for more than three hours and the lives lost during the tragedy. His own client and the latter’s 77-year-old aunt were among the fatalities.

“I prepare hard for my clients. To lose one in this manner, together with her elderly aunt, is a burden I now carry both personally and professionally. Their deaths weigh heavily on me, both as a lawyer and as a fellow human being,” Sajili said in a Facebook post.

He said that the call for an independent and transparent investigation is more compelling under two circumstances. These include the connection between the involved shipping company and the incumbent mayor of Zamboanga City and the occurrence of the incident despite no reported weather conditions.

The family of Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso’s wife reportedly owns Aleson Shipping Lines. All passenger vessels of the shipping firm were grounded until the completion of the investigation. 

The Muslim lawyers group demanded a public disclosure of probe results, including safety violations that may be committed and the parties responsible. 

It also called for legislative action to strengthen maritime passenger safeguarding, urging government agencies, especially the PCG and the Maritime Industry Authority, to review safety standards and impose stricter measures to avoid recurrence.

The group stands in solidarity with the victims. (AMU, DAA)