Scalpers Are Why the Trisha Kerstin 3 Passenger Count Is a Mess — Owner's Lawyer Admits It's a 'Perennial Problem'
The confusion surrounding how many people were actually aboard the ill-fated M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 when it sank off Basilan last January now has a clearer explanation — and it's infuriating. At the House Transportation Committee hearing, the ship owner's lawyer admitted that ticket scalping is a 'perennial problem' that makes passenger manifests unreliable.
Aleson Shipping's lawyer Nelson Tan explained the mechanics: the company issues tickets only with valid IDs, pero once sold, they have 'no control' if the buyer resells the ticket to someone else or gives it to a family member. When a disaster strikes, the original buyer gets declared missing while the actual passenger becomes 'unmanifested' — creating phantom counts.
'Once na binigay nila ang ticket sa iba and may nangyari, the holder of the ticket will become unmanifested and kung sino bumili will become missing. Magiging dalawa po yun when in fact, iisa lang ang sumakay,' Tan said. It's a bureaucratic nightmare that inflates casualty numbers and delays identification.
The Trisha Kerstin 3 sank near Pilas Island, Basilan on January 26. As of the latest count, 65 people are confirmed dead, 293 survived, and 14 remain missing. Overloading has been flagged as a potential cause — and the scalping problem makes it even harder to determine if the vessel exceeded its capacity.
Survivors also raised complaints at the hearing about inadequate compensation. One survivor said her mother couldn't claim the ₱50,000 assistance because Aleson argued they'd already covered ₱40,000 in medical bills — and that the family should be 'grateful.' Rep. Franz Pumaren confronted the company about these reports, demanding accountability for every victim.
Source: GMA News
