Saturday, June 28, 2008

Horrible Beyond Words! - TOXIC CARGO HALTS FERRY SEARCH

SIBUYAN ISLAND, Philippines:
The Philippines stopped the search for hundreds of bodies believed to be aboard a capsized ferry on Friday after authorities learned that 10 tons of toxic pesticide were on board. Angry officials said Sulpicio Lines, owner of Princess of the Stars, would be held accountable for not alerting them to the 400 boxes of endosulfan.

Exposure to the deadly chemical, which is highly restricted, can cause nausea, convulsions and death. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as highly toxic.

Vice President Noli de Castro said that had the ferry disaster task force been told earlier about the toxic cargo, divers would not have been sent to the vessel in search of bodies. "This should not even be aboard a passenger ship," he said at a news conference...

The discovery of the chemical was a grim reminder of how standards are flouted in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands with a woeful track record in maritime safety.

Read more: Toxic cargo halts Philippines ferry search

The devil has been extremely busy claiming souls in our country: Politicians, businessmen, entertainers, the clergy , the list is inexhaustible. Is there anyone in authority there who has not irretrievably compromised his integrity or has a modicum of decency left to care about the people?

2 comments:

neliaamparo said...

Cora,I'm sure there are some you can count with your fingers.But what happens to them.You've heard how many mayors have been gunned down mot too long ago.I'm almost sure these were the people that have a little bit of decency left but the crooks can't stand them so they ended up getting killed.
I'll give you an example.Do you remember when Emeliano Navarro was killed when he was running for congressman in 1961?He was my umcle ,that's why I know a little bit of what happened . I won't give the details anymore but I don't believe it was an accident.Up to this time the case has not been solved. All I know was that, it happened only a couple of days before election and he had a very good chance of winning.We were so shocked when we heard about the news.Having known him since I was a child,and his background I was pretty sure he would be a good leader of our country.But I also know some people in congress who used to work with him ,most of them were already dead that were really scared if he wins the election or let's say,they didn't want him to win.It was such a waste.He was a professor at the college of law in UP and his colleagues wanted to exhume his body so they can study his brain,but his wife refused.Besides being a very good professor he was also a very good lawyer.I've heard that some people would bribe him just to lose the case,but he never accepted any bribe.He grew up from a poor family and up to the time he died he took morality to his grave.He was not the kind of person who would sell his soul for a few pieces of silver.So, that's what happens in our country if somebody even tries to do something good for the sake of the poor.

C C ramirez said...

I do remember him and the profound sadness everyone felt at the time. If truly his death was due to the same perverse evil that now pervades our government and our society in general, then woe indeed to our country!

Surely the ethical values of the utterly self-serving hypocrites who call themselves servants of the people have only become more rotten since then. And this moral decay has infected all areas of society, thanks to the excellent example set by those we all know who.

There may still be some good souls out there, but they seem to have been neutralised. Just see what has become of the likes of Lozada.

What a crying shame!