Arroyo seeks to build ship victims' memorial

Manila: President Gloria Arroyo called for the construction of a memorial for some 700 victims of a ship accident in typhoon Fengshen off central Philippines on June 21, a senior official said.

The commemorative structure will bear the names of the passengers and crew who were killed or have been missing since MV Princess of the Stars sank off Sibuyan Island, said Transport Undersecretary Elena Bautista.

"It will be a lighthouse, or a buoy, or a platform for the memorial," Bautista said, adding the Department of Transportation and Communications will help in designing the proposed structure.

"We will gather some plans for this," she said, adding the project is for the sake of the victims' relatives. Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo preferred a lighthouse for the project, adding, "It will also guide sea crafts sailing off central Philippines, a dangerous route for seafarers."

Of the ship's 866 passengers and crew, only 50 survived. Only a hundred bodies were retrieved from the site of the sea mishap. Hundreds remained missing and were believed dead. Their bodies were trapped inside the ferry which sank upside down.