GUIDELINES FOR CHECKING UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS ON BOARD DOMESTIC VESSELS

I
Purpose

To prescribe a set of guidelines and procedures for the checking
of unauthorized persons on board domestic passenger vessels in order to
ensure that there will be no carriage excess passengers during any
voyage and to set forth the responsibilities in this undertaking of all
the sectors involved.

II
Scope

This Department Order (D.O.) applies to all Philippine-registered passenger vessels engaged in the domestic trade.

III
Concept/Policies:

A.        The sole authority to give permit to be on board is the
owner/operator through the vessel Master. However, the authority shall
be limited only to the authorized passenger carrying capacity of the
vessel including the ship’s crew.

B.        Embarkation and disembarkation stubs (as appropriate)
bearing the ticket number shall be issued by the Company together with
the ticket sold.

1.      For ships plying multiple routes: The embarkation
stub issued by the Company shall be so designed with color codes
indicating a passenger’s ultimate destination (Attachment “A”). The embarkation stub and the ticket shall then be the sole basis for authorizing a passenger to board the vessel.

2.      For ships operating in a single route: The
company need not issue disembarkation stubs. However, the vessels shall
be subject to spot or random inspection by the Philippine Coast Guard
(PCG) to ensure that they do not carry excess passengers.

C.        Selling of tickets on board shall not be allowed and no
person without a ticket and embarkation stub shall be allowed to board
the vessel except registered porters with proper identification and who
are only assisting passengers with their baggages.

D.        The Master of the vessel and the shipowner/operator are
held responsible for anyone or more excess passenger or unauthorized
person on board during a voyage and the disembarkation of unauthorized
passengers (those refusing to disembark at the destination indicated in
the ticket with the intent to proceed to another destination), may be
referred to the law enforcement unit, as appropriate, considering its
nature, i.e., violation of carriage contract.

F.         Access of passengers to and from a vessel shall be
controlled through a passenger terminal. In areas where there are no
passenger terminals available, the Company shall establish a makeshift
boarding area in coordination with concerned port authorities such as
the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Cebu Port Authority (CPA).
The boarding area shall be so designed to provide maximum and effective
control of passengers prior to actual boarding.

G.        Only two categories of persons are authorized on board:

1.         Ship’s personnel with pertinent employment papers as defined below.

a.       Ship’s crew — persons employed (Officer and Ratings)
composing the ship’s manning requirement who are directly responsible
for the operation (machinery and cargo), navigation and maintenance of
the ship.

b.       Ship’s Ancillary Service Personnel — persons employed
or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the business of that
ship, other than the ship’s crew, who do not form part of the manning
requirement of that ship (i.e., waiters, entertainers, security guards,
non-organic maintenance and repair team personnel, etc.)

2.         Passengers with official tickets (includes paying and
non-paying persons and those with half or discounted fares) as defined
below.

a.       A passenger, as defined in the International
Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974, is every person
other than:

1.       The Master and the members of the crew or other
persons employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the
business of the ship and

2.       A child under one year of age.

b.       A person carried on board either because of the
obligation laid upon the Master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or
other person by reason of force majeure is also not considered a
passenger.

H.        Unauthorized persons shall not be allowed in areas other
than passenger accommodation spaces during boarding time and in the
duration of the whole voyage of any vessel.

I.          During boarding time, only porters wearing uniforms
and properly identified are allowed to assist passengers in boarding any
vessel.

J.         Carriage of excess passengers during a voyage is a
ground for the issuance of an Inspection and Apprehension Report (IAR)
by the PCG unit in the next port of call of the vessel.

K.        Boarding Time:

Actual boarding time for passengers shall be based on the schedule
submitted by the Company to the PCG. The Company should not allow
boarding of passengers before the scheduled boarding time. The Company
may change the boarding time when deemed necessary but the said change
should be communicated to the PCG unit not later than 24 hours prior to
the desired change. Said change when communicated to the PCG shall be
posted at the boarding area and shall be properly disseminated by the
Company.

IV
Procedures

A.        The Company shall inform the PCG in writing on the
schedule of boarding (boarding time) in reference to the vessel schedule
of arrival/departure as indicated in its Certificate of Public
Convenience (CPC), Provisional Authority (PA or Special Permit).

B.        The passenger manifest (indicating the name, age and
gender of passengers listed) together with the Master’s Oath of Safe
Departure (MOSD) shall be submitted to the nearest PCG unit at least one
(1) hour before the scheduled departure. The list of all late
passengers shall be submitted upon boarding of the PCG inspector.

C.        At the start of the designated boarding time, passengers
shall only be allowed to board passing through the terminal/covered
area and upon presentment to the manifest officer of a ticket with the
corresponding embarkation stub for the voyage. The Manifest Officer
shall collect the embarkation stub while the passenger shall retain the
ticket. The Manifest Officer shall reflect remarks in the passenger
manifest on the actual boarding.

D.        The manifest officer shall reflect in the passenger
manifest appropriate remarks to identify all late passengers with
official tickets and boarding stubs for accounting purposes.

E.        The manifest officer shall count the number of boarding
stubs submitted, sorting them out in accordance with their color-coding
and reflect his tally in the Passenger Boarding Report (Attachment “B1).
This is to determine the actual number of passengers on board and the
number of passengers expected to disembark at each port along the
vessel’s route.

F.         The Manifest Officer accomplishes the Passenger
Boarding Report in triplicate indicating the number of stubs collected.
The Passenger Boarding Report shall be divided into parts corresponding
to the number of ports that the vessel is calling into. The Master shall
countersign the Passenger Boarding Report and the PCG inspector shall
note the same. The PCG unit in the port of origin shall retain the
original copy of the report. The Manifest Officer shall keep the
duplicate copy and submit the triplicate to the PCG unit at the ship’s
next port of call. The Passenger Boarding Report is accomplished every
time a vessel departs from any port along its route.

G.        At the ship’s next port of call, disembarking passengers
shall submit their disembarkation stubs to the Manifest Officer at the
ship’s exit areas. Passengers remaining on board or those destined to
other ports who choose to disembark and stay a few hours on shore may be
allowed after securing a shore pass from the Manifest Officer. The
passenger disembarkation stub shall be exchanged for a temporary shore
pass. Upon the return of the passenger to the vessel, the disembarkation
stub will be returned in exchange for the shore pass.

H.        The disembarkation stubs submitted by the disembarking
passengers shall then be tallied by the Manifest Officer against the
Passenger Boarding Report forwarded by the PCG unit from the ship’s port
of origin. This shall then be the basis for determining the number of
passengers that will be allowed to board at the vessel’s present port of
call and in accomplishing a new Passenger Boarding Report.

I.          If the number of stubs submitted by the disembarking
passengers is less than that indicated in the part of the Passenger
Boarding Report accomplished in the port of origin, this is an
indication that some passengers unscrupulously bought tickets for a
short route while intending to travel farther. In this case and if there
is still enough time, the Master shall endeavor to locate and disembark
these erring passengers. If this shall prove futile, the number of
passengers allowed to go on board at that port shall be limited to the
number of passengers who actually disembarked based on the number of
stubs submitted. Companies, however, may opt to allocate billeting
allowance (total tickets based on allowed capacity is not fully sold) to
address this potential problem.

J.         Procedures A to H shall then be repeated in allowing
passengers to board the vessel in the succeeding ports of call. In
procedure G, when a passenger submits a disembarkation stub with color
different from that designating the destination or if he/she is unable
to submit any, he/she will be immediately brought to the attention of
the Master or Manifest Officer for proper disposition. A passenger who
fails to submit a disembarkation stub shall be dealt with in the same
manner. (A fine depending on the scale imposed by the company may be
meted out in order to recover the loss incurred for not allowing
passengers to board in the last port of origin due to the
non-disembarkation of the passengers who were supposed to have
disembarked.)

K.        Should mustering of persons on board be necessitated due
to flagrant violations, the PCG inspector shall conduct random checking
of identities and tickets of mustered persons, simultaneous with the
inspection of spaces particularly crew cabin, engine room and other
possible hiding places.

L.         In case of excess passengers, the Master shall
disembark the excess passengers. Immediately, a request shall be
forwarded to the PPA for denial of departure clearance of the vessel
until such time that the excess passengers have been disembarked. A
corresponding request shall be made by the PCG unit for the PPA to lift
the denial of clearance if the deficiency is corrected. Flow charts for
embarkation and disembarkation procedures are shown in Attachments “C1”
and “C2”.

V
Responsibilities:

A.        PCG District/Station/Detachment Commanders

1.         Shall ensure the strict implementation of the provisions of this D.O.
2.         Shall ensure that PCG personnel involved in the
implementation of this D.O. are well-versed with procedures required
herein.
3.         Shall ensure that this D.O. is received and
well-understood by vessel owners/operators as to the required procedures
and their responsibilities.
4.         Shall ensure that the nearest PPA/CPA office is provided a copy of this D.O.
5.         Shall conduct information drive for proper dissemination of this D.O. to concerned people in their AOR.
6.         Shall ensure that shipping companies submit to the PCG
unit concerned shipping schedules and scheduled boarding time for each
passenger vessel operating in their AOR. In this connection, the
operating units shall ensure that they have a copy of the current and/or
updated CPC/PA/SP of vessel operating in their AOR.
7.         Shall ensure that the PCG unit at the port of departure properly notes the Passenger Boarding Report.

B.        Vessel Owner/Operator

1.      Shall provide policies for the proper implementation of
this D.O. on all its vessels that are allowed to carry passengers.
2.      Shall ensure that vessel Master, Manifest Officer and crew comply strictly with the provisions stipulated herein.
3.      Shall ensure that vessel master is given proper
instructions on immediate/automatic disembarkation of unauthorized
persons/passengers prior vessel departure.
4.      Shall ensure that no tickets are sold exceeding the
vessel’s authorized/allowed passenger capacity, and that no tickets will
be sold on board the vessel in compliance with the relevant provisions
hereof.
5.      Shall ensure that all tickets issued (whether from an
authorized booking outlet or from the terminal ticket booth, if so
established), are reflected in the passenger manifest containing names
of passengers, gender, and age, among others.
6.      Shall ensure that the boarding time for each vessel is
submitted to the PCG unit and is posted prominently at the pier entrance
and designated boarding area.
7.      Shall submit to the PCG unit a copy of the updated and/or
current CPC/SP/PA of all vessels they operate that are covered by this
D.O.
8.      Authenticate the embarkation and disembarkation stubs issued together with the passenger ticket.

C.        Vessel Master

1.      Shall be responsible for the strict implementation of this D.O. on board his vessel.
2.      Shall ensure that no unauthorized persons can board his
vessel, and as such, shall adopt strict guarding system (in coordination
with the vessel owner/operator) to prevent boarding of unauthorized
persons.
3.      Shall ensure close coordination with the manifest officer
on the correct information and recording in the passenger main manifest
of identities of passengers who actually boarded the vessel.
4.      Shall effect the immediate/automatic disembarkation of unauthorized persons on board.
5.      Shall designate from among the Deck Officers and crew a
Manifest Officer and an Assistant Manifest Officer (as necessary) who
shall be deemed cognizant of his/her duties and responsibilities as
stipulated herein.
6.      Together with the Manifest Officer, shall countersign the
Passenger Boarding Report at every port of departure after ensuring
correctness of entries entered therein.

D.        Manifest Officer/Assistant Manifest Officer

1.      Shall act as the only person authorized to collect
boarding/disembarkation stubs from passengers. In this connection, shall
also act as the only authority to give temporary shore passes to
passengers.
2.      Shall ensure the proper accounting of passengers in the passenger manifest.
3.      Shall ensure the proper accomplishment of the Passenger Boarding Report to be countersigned by the Master.
4.      Shall ensure that the Passenger Boarding Report is duly
submitted to the PCG unit in every port of call of the vessel.

VI
Penalty Clause:

A.        The following shall be considered as offenses and shall be assessed administrative fines as indicated:

OFFENSE	FINE
	1st Offense	2nd Offense	3rd and Succeeding Offense/s
1. Selling ticket/s on board	P5,000.00 per ticket sold	P10,000.00 per ticket sold	P20,000.00 per ticket sold
2. Non-accomplishment of the Passenger Boarding Report.	P10,000.00	P20,000.00	P30,000.00
3. Wrong entries in the Passenger Boarding Report	P10,000.00	P20,000.00	P30,000.00
4. Non-issuance of embarkation/disembarkation stubs	P30,000.00	P50,000.00	P100,000.00
5. Failure to collect and accurately tally number of embarkation stubs	P10,000.00	P20,000.00	P30,000.00
6. Embarkation and disembarkation stubs not containing any of the required entries, i.e. ports of origin and destination, date of passage, number and authentication  P10,000.00		P20,000.00	P30,000.00
7. Allowing boarding of unauthorized persons on or after the designated boarding time    P30,000.00		P50,000.00	P100,000.00
8. Not posting the boarding time in the vicinity of the boarding area.                                P10,000.00		P20,000.00	P30,000.00
9. Not posting the departure schedule in the vicinity of the departure area.                       P10,000.00		P20,000.00	P30,000.00
10. Posted departure schedule not in accordance with the CPC/PA/SP submitted to the PCG unit.     P10,000.00		P20,000.00	P30,000.00
11. Non-submission of current/updated CPC/PA/SP                                                                         P10,000.00		P20,000.00	P30,000.00
12. Overcrowding or the carrying of passengers beyond the authorized passengers capacity — total excess passengers multiplied by 200% x passage rate for the complete/entire voyage.

B.        Inspection and Apprehension Reports (IARs) issued for
any of the above-mentioned violations shall be adjudicated by the
Commander of the issuing PCG unit who shall act as Adjudicating Officer.
Appeals on the decision of the Adjudicating Officer shall first be
addressed to the District Commander who has jurisdiction over the
issuing PCG unit. A final appeal may be addressed to the Commandant, PCG
whose decision shall be final and executory.

VII
Repealing Clause

All orders, circulars and other issuances inconsistent herewith are deemed amended or revoked.

VIII
Effectivity

This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

Adopted: 18 April 2000

(SGD.) VICENTE C. RIVERA, JR.
Secretary