Task force for stranded passengers formed
The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) has approved the creation of a regional task force that will respond to concerns of stranded passengers in Western Visayas if vessels 1,000 tons and below will not be allowed to sail once a typhoon signal is hoisted within their port of destination and origin.
This was the consensus of all the members of the RDCC during its special meeting that was called by RDCC vice chair and concurrent Office of the Civil Defense regional director Rosario T. Cabrera on Tuesday.
The creation of the Regional Task Force on Strandees stemmed from the concern that was raised by the provincial government of Guimaras when close to 2,000 Guimarasnons were stranded at various ports in Iloilo City during Typhoon Feria.
The Philippine Coast Guard in consonance with PCG Memorandum Circular No. 01-09 prevented pumpboats from plying the Iloilo-Guimaras routes and vice-versa, thus leaving thousands of passengers stranded at the Parola and Ortiz wharf.
PCG Memorandum Circular No. 01-09 prohibits vessels of 1,000 tons and below to sail “except to take shelter, as the situation may warrant when public storm signal (PSS) Number 1 or higher is hoisted within the point of origin, its route, and point of destination.”
The task force is composed of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Philippine National Police, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical, Astronomical Service Administration (Pagasa) and disaster councils of affected local government units.
During the meeting, PCG Iloilo Commander, Capt. Fabricante also urged that the capability of the Pagasa to “give proper appreciation of the weather condition in the area” once a typhoon signal is hoisted be improved.
Engr. Jerry Bionat of the Iloilo Provincial Disaster Council also urged the task force to discuss the possibility of the task force interpreting the data relative to the hoisting of a typhoon signal, taking into consideration the local dynamics of the affected LGU.
Engineer Jo Papa of the Iloilo City Crisis Management Unit explained that it will take around 36 to 50 hours for the typhoon to make a landfall after a typhoon signal is raised.
Guimaras Governor Felipe Hilan-Nava said the suspension of trips did not only cause stranded passengers but it also hampered the economic activities in the province.
“The response was a great help for us. We cannot solve the problem alone but we have to work together for the success of its implementation,” he said. (Perla G. Lena/ PNA)