|
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Sulpicio accused of deceiving ferry victims' kin
MANILA -- Sulpicio Lines could be in bigger trouble if proven that it is behind the deployment of persons urging the families of ferry tragedy victims to give them a blank Special Power of Attorney (SPA) to collect from the shipping company.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said a blank SPA is highly suspicious on its face, as he cautioned the victims' kin not to be victimized twice by signing any document delegating any individuals to collect payment on their behalf.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
He said the blank SPA forms could be used for quitclaim purposes in which the claimants would be forced to settle for a smaller amount of compensation or in not filing future charges against Sulpicio.
Sulpicio is the owner of the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars, which sank on June 21 off Sibuyan Island in Romblon Province.
"The families of the victims should be cautioned on dealing with these people. If there is any doubt on their part, they can seek the assistance of the Public Attorneys' Office (PAO)," Gonzalez said.
PAO chief Persida Rueda Acosta earlier said that some of the complainants were being coerced by Sulpicio to sign blank SPA forms without identifying the lawyers who will be representing the claimants.
She said the move appeared to be a "fixer's racket" as the forms do not have any names of the supposed lawyers who are being authorized to act on behalf of the victims' families.
Justice Secretary Gonzalez said that if the SPAs were indeed a ploy of Sulpicio to evade payment of compensation, they could be in bad faith and would reflect in any future case for damages that may be filed against them.
He added that lawyers who are negotiating with the victims' families to sign SPAs also run the risk of being charged with malpractice and violation of legal ethics tenets.
"They may not be committing any crime but it can aggravate their situation because that shows they are in bad faith. If they are in bad faith then that should mean something if the case is filed already in court," said Gonzalez.
He said relatives of the victims who signed such spurious document risked giving up their right to the P200,000 compensation being offered by Sulpicio.
Gonzalez also said the amount being received by the victims could still go higher once the Board of Marine Inquiry and the courts ruled out that there is reckless imprudence on the part of the company.
The shipping firm however denied the allegations.
No takeover
The justice secretary meantime said it is not in the best interest of the country for the government to totally stop the operations of Sulpicio as it could have a serious economic effect.
The shipping industry earlier informed the government that taking over the shipping company would paralyze cargo operations.
Under emergencies, the government may take over the firm as it was duly backed by congressional authority to do so under Republic Act (RA) 9295, or the Domestic Shipping Law.
"The President doesn't want to run private businesses as much as possible, but for safety purposes we will start only with the cargo vessels of Sulpicio because there is a serious danger that without the ships of Sulpicio, we will run short of shipping to carry cargo," he said.
Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza also stressed the need to continue the inert-island freight operations in the country.
Mendoza met with Sulpicio Lines officials and discussed how and when the cargo vessels could start operations.
He said they suggested the deployment of safety marshals to ensure that all Sulpicio vessels would comply with the existing guidelines instead of a government takeover as proposed by some sectors.
He said the deployment of marshals is also likely to be imposed on other vessels in the future.
Re-floating of ship
Task Force Princess of the Stars head Elena Bautista said the government and the shipping firm had finally agreed on the re-floating of the vessel instead of continuing salvaging to remove the bodies and cargo, including the endoslufan, inside the ship.
Bautista said after carefully studying the advantages and disadvantages of the two options, they deem it safer especially for the divers to re-float the vessel than the proposed salvaging.
She said Sulpicio Lines would be hiring the salvaging firms that have the capability to undertake the re-floating of the MV Princess of the Stars.
According to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the United States vessels and aircraft would not be involved in the re-floating of the MV Princess of the Stars.
He said the US Navy ship USS Stockton and USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier have already completed its mission, or close to completing it.
They are expected to leave within a day or two.
Victim identification center
Foreign forensic experts assisting local authorities in identifying the remains of casualties from the MV Princess of the Stars have set-up a Victim Identification Management Information Center (VIMIC) at the Cebu Port Authority compound in Cebu City.
The team of Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) specialists and forensic experts were sent to Cebu City by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to assist local authorities in processing the remains of the victims.
Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble is in the country to coordinate the operations of the forensic team composed of Olaf Worbs, Torkjel Rygnestad and Andrea Klauser from the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
The Interpol team will work closely with forensic examiners of the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Crime Laboratory and the Department of Health (DOH) in identifying the recovered remains.
PNP Chief Avelino Razon Jr. discussed with Noble the participation of the Interpol forensic team in the identifying the remains of casualties.
"We welcome the Interpol and its member-countries' police services and disaster victim identification (DVI) experts' swift offer of assistance and arrival here to assess our needs," Razon said.
He said the assistance of the foreign experts will hasten the process of retrieving and identifying the bodies of the victims of the sea tragedy.
The Interpol forensic team was involved in the identification of about 3,500 decomposed remains of tsunami victims in Thailand, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
The VIMIC in Cebu City is awaiting the arrival of about 3,000 DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test kits provided by Interpol.
The portable DNA test kits will require blood-stain samples to be extracted from relatives of the victims.
The VIMIC help desk has started issuing forms to be filled-up by relatives of missing victims.
At present, the VIMIC is now processing 149 bodies retrieved by Coast Guard, Navy and PNP divers from the wreck site and surrounding waters. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete. (July 3, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
