Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Husband sues Sulpicio on death of wife and daughter By Karlon N. Rama & Katrina A. Balmaceda Of Sun.Star Cebu
JUANITA Labang and her son, Cesar, took the June 20-Princess of the Stars voyage from Manila to Cebu to fetch her husband and Cesar’s ailing father. They didn’t make it.
Reynold Labang is now certain that they were among the hundreds who perished when the Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) vessel sank off the coast of Romblon hours after leaving the Manila harbor despite stormy weather.
Yesterday, the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) filed, in Labang’s behalf, a civil suit for damages against the shipping company.
“Defendants are liable for negligence and breech of contract of carriage when it failed to exercise extraordinary diligence in transporting its passengers to their destination in Cebu, which resulted in the sinking of its ship... and deaths... the plaintiff’s wife and son,” the suit read.
Labang’s suit is the 17th case brought against the Cebu-based firm for the deaths that came as a result of the vessel’s sinking.
But with 17 civil cases filed against SLI for the June 21-ferry sinking, the complainants made it clear that they have no intentions of committing forum shopping.
That, as administrative and criminal cases have also been separately filed against SLI.
The complainants in the civil case filed a motion informing the court of an administrative case pending before the Department of Transportation and Communications-Maritime Industry Authority (DOTC-Marina) for the sinking.
There is also a criminal case pending before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
PAO, having been authorized to aid and represent the victims’ relatives in filing their civil suits, made a manifestation to this effect yesterday.
They filed their motion before the Regional Trial Courts (RTC), where 16 civil suits filed in Cebu against SLI for the June 21-tragedy have already been raffled off.
Earlier this month, 13 families of the sinking victims filed a criminal complaint before the DOJ in Manila.
Assisted by the PAO central office, they accused SLI of negligence and reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and serious physical injury.
Named respondents were ship captain Florencio Marimon, SLI president Enrique Go, executive vice president and chief executive officer Carlos Go, senior vice president Victoriano Go and first vice presidents Dominador and Edgar Go.
Eight years ago, the DOJ withdrew the criminal case that SLI was facing due to the 1998 sinking of its vessel Princess of the Orient.
In its ruling, the DOJ pointed out that the ship’s crew was to blame for the sinking, not the owners.
That criminal complaint for the Orient tragedy was leveled against SLI owners and officials for reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide, physical injuries and damage to properties.
Meanwhile, Labang, in his suit, asked the court to award him a total of P2.77 million in actual, moral and exemplary damages.
His claim brings to P181,872,000 the sum being sought against the shipping firm, which posted P5.74 billion in revenues last year.
However, it also posted a net loss of P211.46 million in 2007.
In 2006, the shipping firm claimed to have incurred a net loss of P229.1 million.
Labang, in his complaint, bolstered his claim on the alleged negligence on the part of the shipping company.
He said the shipping firm allowed its vessel to leave the Manila harbor despite the storm signal warnings 2 and 3 that were in effect in areas they knew the ship would be traversing.
“Other vessels took shelter at Puerto Galera Cove, Oriental Mindoro and somewhere in Batangas. Indeed, defendants’ negligence has been clearly shown by their absence of care and foresight to avoid damages, death and injuries, not only to the prejudice of plaintiff’s wife and son, but also with the rest of the passengers,” he said.
He also cited how the shipping company manifested negligence “in failing to exercise extra-ordinary diligence in insuring that the mv Princess of the Stars was sea worthy.”
He cited the report of Commodore Luis Tuason Jr. of the Philippine Coast Guard who said the ship was “dead on water” or “drifting without propulsion” and “needed immediate assistance” before it sank.
“Aggravatingly, defendants’ negligence, want to care and breach of contract thereby making them civilly, criminally and administratively liable were definitely manifested by defendants’ act of allowing their vessel... to load together with its passengers, large quantities of toxic chemicals such as endosulfan,” he also said.
