Sulpicio Lines to face obligations (1:55 p.m.)
CEBU CITY - Officials of Sulpicio Lines told the press Monday that the company will face its obligations to the victims of the sunken MV Princess of the Stars.
The company will compensate the families of those who died and will extend as well financial assistance to the survivors to help alleviate the terrible pain wrought by typhoon Frank (Fengshen).
The company will give P200,000 to the family of each dead victim and an unspecified amount of financial assistance to each survivor.
Sulpicio Lines said it has been coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Marina, the Coast Guard under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation and Communication, and other government agencies concerning the accident.
“We are very willing to cooperate and we are open to any inquiry the government will conduct on the tragedy,” the spokesperson said.
The company has also set up help desks in its Cebu and Manila offices to attend to the needs of the relatives of passengers of the ship.
The spokesperson said Sulpicio Lines has not issued statements earlier as it needed to verify the reports it has been receiving since the start of the incident.
“It’s hard to issue statements that are not verified,” the spokesperson said.
Sulpicio Lines said its people have been talking to the families of the passengers and crew of the ill-fated vessel.
Debriefing and distressing seminars have been given and they have also been explaining to the families the activities and actions Sulpicio has been doing to rescue the passengers and crew.
Sulpicio Lines explained that the captain did not receive a bulletin advising them of the latest update on the typhoon before the ship left the port of Manila.
The ship, which was on a 20-22 hour trip from Manila, was five hours away from its destination in Cebu.
Of the 751 passengers and crew, 81 were minors.
Sulpicio Lines purchased the MV Princess of the Stars on May 2001 in Japan. Out of the company’s combined 11 cargo and passenger vessels, the MV Princess of the Stars was the largest. It was also the largest in the domestic shipping industry.
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