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This is an administrative case against Captain Raymundo Perez, Lighthouse Tenders, Philippine Navy, in connection with the grounding of the vessel RPS L-46, of which he was in command, at Tubot Cove, Misamis Oriental, on July 14, 1952, at about 6:35 o’clock p.m. The port engine propeller must have struck some rocks, resulting in the slight bending at forward rotation of its three blades. Its tail shaft was also bent. The damage sustained by the vessel is estimated at P3,100.00.

The Board of Investigators found the following facts to have been established:

1. That the respondent proceeded toward the Tubot wharf without sounding the place despite the fact that he was not familiar with the locality;

2. That he ordered his executive officer (first mate) to assist him in the bridge while maneuvering the ship alongside the wharf, in violation of a standing regulation that the first mate must remain at the bow while entering port;

3. That he did not take the necessary precautions demanded by the events and circumstances confronting him when he maneuvered the ship directly towards the Tubot wharf, although he could hardly see the wharf on account of the deepening darkness, relying merely upon the information given him by his first mate;

4. That the official records of the ship were improperly kept;

5. The he and his executive officer did not verify the entries in the smooth log book (deck) before affixing their signatures thereto in order to ascertain whether or not the same were exact copies of the entries in the rough log book;

6. That he knew, or should have known, the force of the adverse current when, he went against it before heading for the wharf;

7. That his executive officer did not record all the maneuvers of telegraph at the bridge while the ship was entering Tubot Cove because he could not see low the respondent manipulated the telegraph; and

8. That the respondent ordered full speed for the port engine even after the ship had touched ground.

In the light of the foregoing findings, it is evident that the respondent displayed poor seamanship while maneuvering his ship and that he did not take the necessary precautions demanded by the circumstances. It is also evident that he was grossly negligent in ordering full speed for the port engine even after the ship had touched ground, thereby aggravating the damage suffered by the vessel. As commanding officer, he cannot escape responsibility for the negligence of his officers in the keeping of the official records of his ship.

For all the foregoing, it is hereby ordered that the respondent be reduced by two grades in the seniority list of officers of the Lighthouse Tenders, Philippine Navy, relieved of his command of the ship RPS L-46, transferred to a vessel of smaller tonnage, and reprimanded.

Done in the City of Manila, this 14th day of February, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the eighth.

(Sgd.) RAMON MAGSAYSAY
President of the Philippines

By the President:
(Sgd.) FRED RUIZ CASTRO
Executive Secretary