Boat captain, coast guard probed for liability in Philippines’ boat accident

Manila, July 28 The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the police have started a probe to determine the liability of a boat captain and the PCG personnel in a passenger boat accident which killed at least 26 persons, said a PCG spokesman on Friday.
PCG spokesman Armando Balilo told a television interview that the motorboat, which capsized in Laguna de Bay off Rizal province in the Philippines on Thursday, was carrying nearly 70 people, with only a maximum capacity of 42.
The passenger boat was traveling to Talim island in Laguna de Bay from Binangonan town when the accident happened. Survivors interviewed by local media said the passengers rushed to one side of the boat when it was buffeted by strong winds and rains, causing the boat to tilt on one side, trapping many passengers under the boat.
As search and retrieval operations continue, by Friday noontime, the PCG has accounted for 66 passengers, including 26 deaths and 40 survivors.
In the official manifest submitted by the boat captain to the local PCG unit, only 22 passengers were listed, plus two crew and the captain, said Balilo.
“The boat’s captain has admitted that he overloaded the boat and did not ask the passengers to wear life jackets,” Balilo said, adding there were indeed “excess” passengers on the ill-fated boat.
Cesar Ynares, mayor of Binangonan, said the PCG should be investigated for not inspecting the overloaded boat before it departed.
One male survivor told local media that there was no PCG personnel when the boat left the port.
“Many were trapped in the overturned boat,” he said, adding they were not wearing life jackets but admitted to having seen the lifesaving device on the boat.