CATBALOGAN
CITY, Nov. 27 -- A park in this city will undergo
a renovation starting next week in preparation for the 30th year commemoration
of the world’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history.
A shrine
will be constructed inside the Pieta Park to be designed by renowned sculptor
Joel Pragas, a native of this city.
A museum
will also rise inside the Pieta Park that will house memories related to MV
Doña Paz, a Philippine-registered passenger ferry that sank after colliding
with the oil tanker MT Vector on Dec. 20, 1987 killing 4,386 people.
Most of
the passengers are from Catbalogan and some from towns in Samar and Leyte
provinces.
The
renovation of Pieta Park intends not only to remember those who died but also
to share the lessons of Doña Paz, Catbalogan Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said on
Monday.
“I
believe that it may have been a dark and tragic part of the city’s history, but
we must always look back and remember in order for us to move forward and have
hope despite all the adversities that may come our way,” Uy-Tan said.
“By
remembering the past, we are reflecting on the present and preparing for the
future. We need to unite and give this importance for the sake of our future,”
Uy-Tan added.
The
passenger vessel was travelling from Tacloban to Metro Manila when it made a
stopover in Catbalogan to load more passengers who wanted to spend Christmas in
the capital. The vessel was seriously overcrowded, with at least 2,000
passengers unlisted on the manifest.
The ferry
was at Dumali Point, along the Tablas Strait, near Marinduque on the night of
Dec. 20, 1987 when it collided with MT Vector, an oil tanker en route from
Bataan to Masbate. The tanker was carrying 8,800 barrels of gasoline and other
petroleum products. (RTA/PNA)
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