Basilan ferry deaths draw focus to Aleson Delivery’s political ties

SEC paperwork present that the spouse of Zamboanga Metropolis Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso holds a 24.75% stake valued at P19.8 million within the embattled Aleson Delivery Strains

With 29 confirmed fatalities following the M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank off Basilan on Monday, January 26, Mindanao-based transport empire is as soon as once more below fireplace. The tragedy has prompted the Division of Transportation (DOTr) to floor the complete passenger fleet of Aleson Delivery Strains, an organization that has managed to keep up its dominance regardless of being linked to 32 maritime incidents since 2019. 

Appearing Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez mentioned that apart from the transport firm, accountability should even be anticipated from authorities authorities for any attainable shortcomings. (READ: DOTr grounds complete Aleson passenger fleet as ferry probe begins)

“If we actual accountability from the ship homeowners, we’re going to actual greater accountability from these in authorities,” Lopez mentioned. “Relating to maritime security, that isn’t negotiable; that isn’t non-obligatory. Enterprise issues are simply secondary.”

The Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament Member Naguib Sinarimbo mentioned welcomed the DOTr’s choice to droop the vessel’s allow, highlighting that the incident far exceeded a mere accident, which calls for justice and accountability.

“These chargeable for guaranteeing vessel security, imposing maritime laws, and executing efficient rescue operations should be held totally accountable. The lack of life below calm sea situations underscores the pressing want to look at attainable operational failures, regulatory neglect, or negligence,” Sinarimbo mentioned.

The regional authorities of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Area in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) additionally referred to as for a radical and clear investigation.

“We name on the involved authorities to undertake a radical investigation to forestall the recurrence of comparable tragedies,” learn a assertion from BARMM interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua.

Like BARMM officers, the Muslim Attorneys Group in Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (MLZ) asserted that when accidents happen repeatedly – as seen within the case of Aleson Delivery Strains – “they stop to be mere accidents and develop into a failure of duty.”

In a assertion, the legal professionals’ group emphasised that the tragedy ought to end in a congressional inquiry. The group mentioned transparency is important, significantly as a result of Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso of Zamboanga Metropolis, the place Aleson is predicated, has ties to the transport strains, and the catastrophe, primarily based on a number of accounts, occurred below calm sea situations.

Olaso’s ties with Aleson

Upon evaluation of paperwork from the Securities and Change Fee (SEC), Rappler discovered that Olaso’s household has a stake within the firm. 

The corporate’s newest Common Info Sheet from November 2025 lists Olaso’s spouse, Mary Pleasure A. Tan-Olaso, amongst its stakeholders. Mary Pleasure holds 24.75% of the shares, which quantities to at the least P19.8 million. 

Over DZXL-Radio Mindanao Community, Olaso additionally confirmed that his spouse is part proprietor of Aleson, however denied he has something to do with its present enterprise dealings and operations. His spouse is a member of the household behind the embattled transport firm.

Olaso, nonetheless, mentioned he as soon as labored for Aleson as a ship captain, superintendent, and operations supervisor. He additionally denied utilizing his energy to affect the Maritime Trade Authority (Marina) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in favor of the transport firm.

“I’m not accountable for the Coast Guard; I’ve no management of Marina…. That’s unfair to me…. I cannot settle for that…. I’m very easy,” Olaso mentioned.

This connection attracts renewed consideration to a March 2023 incident the place one other Aleson-owned vessel caught fireplace close to Basilan, leading to over 30 deaths. On the time, Olaso, who was then a Zamboanga Metropolis congressman, attributed the blaze to a faulty mild bulb in an unused cabin.

“Afterward, when it was reported, the fireplace reached the bridge and it was already a giant fireplace,” Olaso mentioned in 2023. “Based on the officers, they tried to place out the fireplace, however [it] unfold so quick. Most probably the crew did not [stop it with an] extinguishing system; maybe additionally they panicked.”

Legislative agenda

Olasa’s congressional information additionally reveal a centered legislative agenda for the maritime sector, proposing vital shifts in business operations. This contains a number of payments that might straight or not directly have an effect on Aleson Delivery Strains. 

Based on the Home database, these Home payments remained pending of their respective committees. These embrace:

• HB 04592: Permitting transport firms to resume and revalidate competency certificates for seafarers at the moment on board through on-line platforms.
• HB 04596: Establishing Zamboanga Metropolis Port Authority. 
• HB 04594: Amending RA No. 10635 to replace Requirements of Coaching, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) of the Marina.
• HB 02301: Implementing an administrative restructuring and reorganizing of the PCG.

Within the Philippines, Marina and the PCG are the first companies that strictly govern laws concerning the use of outdated, dilapidated, or repurposed vessels. In the meantime, native governments like that of Zamboanga Metropolis maintain overlapping jurisdiction regarding environmental security and vessel disposal.

Which means that Aleson’s steady growth and acquisition of transport and passenger vessels because the Nineteen Nineties have been largely ruled by Marina and PCG laws and inspections.

“Maritime transport stays a lifeline for the folks of Mindanao and our island communities. When that lifeline fails, we owe the victims greater than sympathy. We owe them justice. We owe them reform. We owe them the reassurance that no household will endure the identical loss once more. We owe it to those that perished  not solely to mourn, however to behave,” Sinarimbo mentioned. – Rappler.com