Saturday, July 12, 2008 Man to gather victims’ kin to file class suit v. Sulpicio
LEVY Samuele is back in Cebu.
Although he has no plans of climbing towers in the next few days, Samuele said that he and his friends might launch a movement here and hold activities to remember loved ones who died in the sinking of the mv Princess of the Stars.
The group has initially planned to lay flowers and light candles on Monday once they have identified a venue for the ceremony.
Samuele, 36, added that he and the victims’ families who are based in Manila will also be holding a ceremony on July 21, exactly a month after the fateful sinking of the mv Princess of the Stars.
Development
“It’s nearing one month and still, there is very little development and progress (in the investigation),” he said.
Days after the tragedy and without any assistance from anyone that time, Samuele climbed a tower in Manila to call the government’s and Sulpicio Line Inc.’s attention to the victims’ families’ demand for justice.
On July 21, Samuele and other victims’ families will go to Roxas Boulevard and hold the ceremony there, in memory of their missing kin.
Samuele arrived yesterday afternoon at the action center at the Cebu City Sports Complex with hopes of finding other families interested in filing a case against Sulpicio Lines Inc.
Samuele said he has already filed a case against Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) last Thursday.
Quitclaim
“We filed a case against Sulpicio last Thursday, it was a criminal, civil, moral case, and I’m not sure about the rest,” he said in an interview.
Although Samuele admitted that their family has already claimed the insurance money from SLI and has signed the quitclaim asking victims’ families not to sue, Samuele said he would still sue the shipping company.
“Itutuloy naming ang kaso,” he said.
Samuele said that the main reason for his return to Cebu is to find other families to file separate cases against SLI.
Samuele would gather the names of family members interested in filing a case against Sulpicio and said that he would send the list to Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta.
Aside from finding allies, Samuele said that he would also have his DNA sample taken with hopes of being reunited with his cousin, Roy Padua, and his niece, Jacquelene Padua.
Samuele said that he was pleased with the collection of DNA samples in Cebu. Unlike the operations of the action center and one-stop shop here, assistance to families in Manila were not well coordinated, he added.
“Ang Sulpicio doon hindi nakipagcoordinate sa amin (The SLI office in Manila has not been coordinating with us),” said Samuele.
Samuele, though, has no plans of talking with the SLI management in Cebu, saying that there is nothing to talk about.
Asked if he still held grudges against the shipping company, he answered with a resounding yes.
“Walan’g kapatawaran (It’s unforgivable),” said Samuele. (EPB)
