Thursday, August 14, 2008 Another case filed vs. Sulpicio; PAO to consolidate cases
THE head of the Public Attorney’s Office in the Visayas is eyeing the consolidation of all the cases against Sulpicio Lines Inc. over the Princess of the Stars sinking and to have it raffled to a single court, as the number of suits continues to rise.
Regional Director Maria G-Ree Calinawan yesterday endorsed to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) the seventh suit her office has so far prepared—Mario Jadena vs. Sulpicio Lines Inc.—for damages incurred with the death of Jadena’s 23-year old daughter, Modelyn.
“This is still for the approval of the chief public attorney. And even if it is approved, it will still be up for the approval of all of the judges involved,” Calinawan said in an interview Tuesday.
The presentation of cases in court will be easier to manage if consolidated.
Special panel
Other than the suits against Sulpicio Lines, the Public Attorney’s Office is up to its neck in carrying out its primary mandate—handling the defense of people charged with crimes but who cannot afford private lawyers.
“If unconsolidated, the cases will be individually handled by the public attorneys assigned to the court the cases are individually raffled to. If consolidated, we can create a special panel to focus on it,” Calinawan explained.
So far, Sulpicio Lines Inc. is facing seven damages suit here in Cebu. It is the shipping firm’s 20th nationwide over the June 21 accident.
The PAO is preparing seven more, this time upon the behest of the families of individual crew members still missing or presumed dead.
The RTC Civil Division is set to raffle the Jadena case off to a judge within the week, alongside case number six—Andres and Emelita Anit vs. SLI—for damages incurred with the death of their son, Dennis.
The first five other cases already have assigned courts.
Damages
The seven cases in Cebu so far share the same factual narration. Even the persons or entities are impleaded are the same: Sulpicio Lines Inc., corporate officers Enrique, Eusebio, Carlos, Victoriano, Dominador, Ricardo, Edward and Edgar Go, as well as the Princess of the Stars skipper, Florencio Marimon.
They differ only in the personal circumstances of the victims and the extent of the money claims.
In the latest case, Jadena asked the court to order the shipping company to award the family P7.2 million in actual damages, representing actual income lost with the death of Modelyn. She was employed at the time of her death, earning P192,000 per year.
Spouses Andres and Emelita Anit, who lodged civil suit number six, asked for P50.8 million in actual damages. Their son, the late Dennis Anit, was employed as a seaman who had a standing contract at the time of his death.
In all seven cases, the complainants cited the shipping company’s “absence or lack of care and foresight” as having caused the ship to sink off Romblon. It left port last June 21, with passengers and cargo that included the toxic chemical endosulfan, despite knowing that storm warning signal number three had been hoisted because of typhoon Frank.
“The rough seas encountered by the mv Princess of the Stars were reasonably foreseeable by defendants considering that defendants are duty-bound to ensure the safe voyage of said vessel,” they said.
They narrated how they learned of the sinking only through the media and how they were frustrated when they tried to go to SLI for information on the survivors and the casualties.
They admitted to having signed a release and quitclaim agreement when they were given the P200,000 insurance money that SLI obtained from Oriental Assurance Corp., but said these don’t have any legal weight because they were not represented by their own counsel. (KNR)
