Sulpicio Traces should pay kin of M/V Princess of the Stars victims P230M in damages

The Courtroom of Appeals upholds a September 2015 resolution by a Manila regional trial court docket ordering house owners of the Sulpicio Traces to pay P230.25 million in damages and P11.5 million in attorneys’ charges

MANILA, Philippines – The Courtroom of Appeals (CA) has upheld an earlier ruling that ordered the house owners of Sulpicio Traces to pay a minimum of P230 million in damages to the victims and households of the ill-fated passenger ferry M/V Princess of the Stars.

In June 2008, the passenger-cargo liner vessel carrying over 700 passengers capsized in waters off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province on the peak of Storm Frank. Greater than 200 folks died and a whole bunch have been left lacking within the tragedy.

The CA’s Fourteenth Division, in its 237-page resolution, upheld the Manila Regional Trial Courtroom Department 49 resolution on September 18, 2015, that dominated in favor of the complainants and ordered the house owners of the ferry, the Go household, to pay P230.25 million in damages and P11.5 million in attorneys’ charges.

“All advised, we can’t flip a blind eye to this grotesque maritime tragedy, which is now a darkish web page in our nation’s historical past. We commiserate with all of the victims, those that perished, younger and outdated alike, however particularly extra so to the appellees on this case, who nonetheless await justice for his or her deceased relations,” the appellate court docket mentioned because it junked a petition filed by the house owners of Sulpicio Traces, now Philippine Span Asia Service Company.

The CA mentioned the full quantity earlier awarded will earn a 6% each year curiosity from the finality of the choice till its full cost.

In its ruling, the court docket mentioned that below the Civil Code of the Philippines, the corporate, as a typical service, had the obligation to soundly transport its passengers from Manila to Cebu.

“Nonetheless, appellants miserably failed of their obligation, as a result of the Stars by no means reached its vacation spot because it capsized alongside the waters of Sibuyan, San Fernando, Romblon. This truth alone created a presumption of negligence on appellants’ half — a presumption that they have been unable to beat,” the court docket mentioned.

The court docket mentioned the corporate ought to have straight ordered its captain to take shelter, or it may’ve finally determined to not let the M/V Princess of the Stars sail in any respect, given climate circumstances. On this regard, the court docket mentioned there was, on the a part of the corporate and its house owners, not solely negligence in failing to train diligence earlier than and after the vessel’s departure but in addition dangerous religion within the efficiency of their duties.

It additionally declared as invalid the discharge and quitclaim signed by the complainants, which the house owners of the corporate used to argue towards them recovering damages. The CA mentioned that the P200,000 that the complainants obtained represented the combination restrict of legal responsibility for unintentional dying and burial bills included within the insurance coverage issued by the corporate, nevertheless it didn’t exempt Sulpicio Traces from legal responsibility for his or her negligence. – Rappler.com