First Filipino-made NatGeo docu ‘Asia’s Titanic’, a reminder of RP maritime safety issues

Asia's Titanic, first Filipino docu on NatGeo
Asia's Titanic, first Filipino docu on NatGeo

The National Geographic Channel held a special screening for media (including bloggers) of “Asia’s Titanic”, the first Filipino-made NatGeo-produced documentary, which tackled the infamous MV Dona Paz tragedy of 1987 — the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

There is no Leonardo di Caprio or Kate Winslet to give star power to “Asia’s Titanic”. But the scarred faces, voices and tears of the survivors who the team of Laranas managed to interview and the simple reenactments are enough to give face to the periodic victims of such preventable tragedies. They are our poorest countrymen and women who travel the country from less prosperous provinces to the cities and vice versa especially during holidays when filial piety demands that they reunited with kith and kin they have left in search for jobs in the cities.

Megged by Yam Laranas, “Asia’s Titanic” focuses less on the urgent need for marine safety on behalf of the bulk of poor Filipinos who take the sealanes to travel across the archipelago and more on survivors’ testimonies which gave it the power needed to drive home the point of the movie.

Just last year, in June,the nation mourned the senseless deaths in the tragedy that befell MV Princess of the Stars, also owned by the same Sulpicio Lines.  Who can forget the harrowing stories of MV Princess of the Stars survivors, the state agencies’ neglect of marine safety, and of corporate sharks that preyed on Filipinos whose sole reason for dying was to avail of the cheapest possible way of traveling in our country and perhaps overly trusting both the state and the company that nothing would go horribly wrong?

Although quiet on corrective measures made by government since the MV Dona Paz tragedy to minimize the chances of it recurring and to save travellers from the horrors of such maritime disasters (or the absence thereof),  “Asia’s Titanic” is an emotional reminder us that we must demand more from government, the shipping companies and especially ourselves as citizens.

Citizens must demand maritime safety measures. Government must make and enforce the laws on such measures. Companies must abide by them. Those who fail to enforce, those who violate or those who flout the law just to earn quick cash (through overloading) or to escape culpability (through haphazard investigations) must be prosecuted.  Otherwise, the history of maritime travel in the Philippines will remain littered with sordid stories of collisions and sinkings — close to 100 years when the passenger liner Titanic sank in its maiden voyage in 1912.  We cannot claim to be a progressive country when we cannot ensure safe travel between our many islands.

Laranas and producer Andrew Roque admitted during the screening that they encountered many challenges in making this documentary and that is to be expected.  The owners of MV Dona Paz and MV Vector, the oil tanker that hit the passenger ship would most probably not remind the public about the incident or at the very least would wish to escape any or all accountability to the public. At least one survivor, said Roque, refused to be interviewed or have any part in the project because of lingering trauma.

Trauma continues to grip the said survivor and the whole nation because, judging from the string of sea disasters from 1987 up until last year, we may yet to see the last of these tragedies and we could only hope that this documentary would spark discussions on what ought to be done.

“Asia’s Titanic” premieres on August 25 (Tuesday), on National Geographic (Channel 41 on SkyCable) at 9:00 pm. It will again be telecast August 26 (Wednesday) at 4:00 am, 9:00 am, 1:00 pm and 9:00 pm; on August 30 (Sunday) at 9:00 pm; August 31 (Monday) at 1:00 am and 5:00 am; Sept. 5 (Saturday) at 6:00 pm, Sept. 28 (Monday) at 8:00 pm and on Sept. 29 (Tuesday) at 1:00 pm.