Probers note 2 violations of gov’t-owned ferry

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MANILA – A director of Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) noted 2 glaring violations of Maharlika 2, the ferry that sank in choppy waters on Saturday night.

“I don’t want to preempt the investigation, although we can initially point out some violations,” Emmanuel Carpio, director of Marina in the Caraga Region said in a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.

The violations include the failure of the ferry’s shipmaster to submit an incident report and the discrepancies on the official passenger manifest.

Included in the official manifest of the ferry are 58 passengers, a figure that is less than half of the 119 people aboard when the ship sank.

A total of 110 passengers and crew were rescued while eight bodies were recovered and one is still missing.

But because there are discrepancies in the official manifesto, authorities are still unsure of the total number of bodies that are still missing.

Officials also said that the irregularities in the total number of passengers on the list are causing delays in the recovery and rescue operation.

As of writing, rescuers are only relying on the accounts and claims of survivors and their relatives for information.