Should Sulpicio Lines be allowed to sail again? Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said he was in favor of letting Sulpicio Lines resume its operations. But more compelling than the cardinal’s approval is the opinion that the punitive view of the issue is outweighed by economic concerns. A prolonged freeze of Sulpicio Lines’ operations, some businessmen say, is detrimental to inter-island trade in the country.Others, especially the families and friends of the thousands who perished in Sulpicio’s four sea disasters in just two decades, want the shipping company to seriously shape up or, well, ship out. They say Sulpicio should not be treated with kid gloves for all its deadly faults. It is incumbent upon government officials to determine what should be done in order for the shipping company to deal with its shortcomings. But here comes the House of Representatives calling for an investigation, which, as usual, won’t result in anything as usual. If only the House had acted on a previous initiative to review maritime policies, there’d be no catastrophic “misjudgments” by maritime industry players today. When Sulpicio’s Princess of the Orient sank in 1998, Congress conducted an investigation but didn’t pass any laws that would have helped prevent similar tragedies. When the klieg lights went out, the congressmen went looking for the next bright spot. Congressional investigations are no longer necessary. Hasn’t Congress learned from inquiries and reports of previous sea mishaps? What we need as soon as possible is new legislation that will protect the passengers and crew members of sea vessels from corporate greed. * * * The Cebu City government’s Action Center closes today and families of missing passengers of Princess of the Stars will now be housed at the YMCA building. I was told that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) would now shoulder the board and lodging of 177 persons at P150 for bed space and P150 for food for each person every day. DSWD should be careful in spending so much money for this. Do the families really need to be in the city? The city government has already advised them to go home because authorities will just use the DNA test kits donated by Interpol to identify the corpses at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes. * * * There is really no stopping the oil companies’ weekly oil-price increases. Today, the price of premium gasoline is already P63 per liter and diesel costs P55 per liter, a big blow to operators and drivers of public utility jeepneys. PUJ operators and drivers can no longer be appeased with small subsidies offered by the government. Some are already demanding a fare hike of P4 to P5. Government should look seriously into their plight. The proposal to go back to regulating oil prices, I guess, is not the proper solution because it also means going back to the Oil Price Stabilization Fund, which is sourced from taxes (meaning, another burden for the people). They should instead focus instead on suspending the 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on oil to effect a rollback of oil prices by about P6. I think the temporary suspension of the VAT on oil could be successfully lobbied by the public transport sector with the help of the public. Holding jeepney strikes will not make the government heed their call. Also, a strike is a great inconvenience to the riding public; it’s not a way to win people’s sympathies. Ultimately, government should think of doable measures to help the public transport sector and the public it serves cope with the rising cost of living. * * * The investiture of University of San Carlos’ new president, Fr. Marcelo Miranda, SVD, was held Saturday. Better known as a theologian (a “practicing theologian,” he would add), Fr. Miranda brings with him new ideas and movements for USC. Let us all welcome Fr. Miranda to the Carolinian community. | 
