Sulpicio Tells Victims No Lawyers Needed

Written on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 8:30 pm | by Nick

The audacity of Sulpicio Lines to put one over the entire country and authorities when they didn’t even inform rescue teams that their ship was carrying poisonous cargo is nothing compared to what they are now trying to pull. In their recent “Public Announcement”, they are reiterating their willingness to give P200,000 to legal heirs of the victims, while they advise that the families don’t need lawyers. As they put it,

There is no need to hire the services of a lawyer because the claims will be acted upon with dispatch

said the company who has had four sea tragedies in two decades, and who never told anyone about dangerous pesticides in its cargo, the company who failed to respond with adequate force within 24 hours of the tragedy, and the company who has made the lives of so many families miserable.

Believe me when I say this, P200,000 is a bribe, to wave money at the families of the victims, especially in their hour of need. I say, give them P200,000 without having to sign away their rights, give them the money outright, without any documents, just identification and proof of being the heir, any other “form” that is needed, is definitely a form to circumvent their liabilities to the families.

Here’s their full statement,

We have lost our good ship, MV Princess of the Stars, the crown jewel in our fleet, and some of our best crew. But more than these, we have lost valued passengers without whose patronage the company would not have been where it is today. Even as we grieve and continue to mourn the loss of priceless human lives, we must now match that grief with decisive action to directly address the plight of the victims and their loved ones to ease their suffering.

Mindful, likewise, of the deep concern shown by our president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for the victims and their families and her desire that their plight be alleviated by concrete actions, Sulpicio Lines, Inc. has decided to cast aside legal technicalities and waive the waiting period of one year within which missing passengers will be compensated. Instead, the legal heirs of ALL VICTIMS LISTED IN THE PASSENGER MANIFEST will be paid the amount of Two Hundred Thousand Pesos regardless of whether the bodies have been recovered or are still missing, and regardless of whether the bodies have been identified or not up to this time.
We therefore invite the next of kin or legal heirs of every passenger-victim (casualties) listed in the PASSENGER MANIFEST to fill up A CLAIM FORM which can be obtained from our Manila office at Pier 12, North Harbor, Manila or from our Cebu office at Reclamation Area, Cebu City, and submit this to either office, together with the following supporting documents (original copy):

1. Birth Certificate and Marriage Contract of victims;
2. Birth Certificate and Marriage Contract of claimant/s;
3. Valid cedula and government ID of the claimant/s;
4. Voter’s ID of the victim and claimant/s (if available or deemed necessary);
5. Affidavit of relationship of the claimant/s to the victim;
6. Death Certificate (if available).

There is no need to hire the services of a lawyer because the claims will be acted upon with dispatch and with as simple documentation as possible.

The PASSENGER MANIFEST is posted in conspicuous places at the office of Sulpicio Lines, Inc. in Manila and Cebu.

Human life is so precious that no money value can be attached to it.

But this is the least that we can do to show how deeply we commiserate with the victims of this unfortunate event, a tragedy that nobody wanted to happen, least of all Sulpicio Lines.

We would like to thank the NGOs, the PNRC, DSWD, DSWS, NDCC, NBI, DOTC and Marina, LGUs most especially the Cebu City Government, PN divers, PN, PNP and AFP, US Navy, Philippine Coast Guard auxiliary and most especially the Philippine Coast Guard for their invaluable assistance.

This announcement shall not be construed as an admission of liability on the part of Sulpicio Lines, Inc.

May Almighty God bless us all.

I say, May Almighty God Bless the victims and their families, and may God strike down this company with all his might.

How dare they give advice and tell the families not to procure a lawyer, any document that is worth signing especially when the other party is Sulpicio Lines, better be scrutinized by an army of lawyers, because trust me, in the hour of great despair, it is not human lives Sulpicio Lines is worrying about, it is how they can get out of this situation by losing the least amount of money. It is their bottom-line, and their business that they are worried about.

And in the end, this recent scam of theirs, is another reason, why in the chaos that they are bringing to the families, they feel that they can just slip this through. The scavengers of the earth are looking for more victims, those without lawyers.

Tags: ,
Add to del.icio.us | Digg this! | Yahoo MyWeb | Google Bookmark It! | Stumble It!
About The Author: Nick is a passionate Filipino, and a political junkie. His personal blog is at Tingog - The Voice of The Filipino. He is the founder and Editor not Chief of FilipinoVoices.com. He has been blogging since 2006.

Filed Under National News

Related Entries:

Comments

12 Responses to “Sulpicio Tells Victims No Lawyers Needed”

  1. the jester-in-exile on June 29th, 2008 10:45 pm

    and what of passengers who were not listed on the manifest, as some reports imply?

  2. rom on June 30th, 2008 1:44 am

    nick:OMG, uncle. I just found out from reading jester’s blog that you lost people in this. I am sooooo sorry.

  3. Jonas on June 30th, 2008 2:38 am

    That’s a welcome act from the Sulficio Lines. I also agree that lawyers is unnecessary in the process of filing for the 200,000 claim. I said that because the company already specifically put down in detail the requirements in the processing of the claim. Lawyers might only get their part in the action if allowed to participate in the process.

    But still it must be made clear that such claim will not serve as a waiver on the part of the families to file any criminal and civil action against the company.

  4. Ding G. Gagelonia on June 30th, 2008 3:32 am

    Sulpicio has bared its soul… ITS LACK ONE…as Eom so accurately describes the bribe with all too obvious strings attached… arrogantly exposing the finer print in the tragedy… requiring the claimant already grieving relative to submit all sorts of ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS to qualify for the alms they are shoving into the palms of the families of the dead and missing!

    What has just been exposed is that Sulpicio has LIMITED INSURANCE COVERAGE people. Remember the Pepsi 349 fiasco where only a full blown CLASS ACTION SUIT practically ran Pepsico Philippines to the ground?

    THIS IS WHAT IS NEEDED HERE PRONTO.

  5. Ding G. Gagelonia on June 30th, 2008 3:33 am

    pardon the hurried typo… MEANT SULPICIO’S LACK OF A SOUL.

  6. reese on June 30th, 2008 10:13 am

    for me there is still a need of lawyers in whetever claims from sulpicio coz there would be a possible deceit that may turn out specially for those victim who lack knowledge with the process of claiming compensation.. lets face it the sulpicio has bunch of high paid lawyers that will see to it that the company will pay much lesser claimants of the 200 thousand they promised..

    the PAO extend help for the victims families, lawyers from PAO are very competent, humble and its free ..

  7. reese on June 30th, 2008 10:27 am

    we cannot blame sulpicio in setting the requirements for the claim of 200 thousand coz it is in the nature of some filipinos to take advatage in whatever calamities or tragedy that comes in our way..
    in previous incedents, some even filed claims for insurance or benifits or help for just being their names are found in the manifesto although they’re wasnt able to rode the sunken vessel.. some even immediately filed their claims prior to the declaration from the coast guard that no more possible survivor or victims found.. para lng magkapera gagamitin ang magagamit..

  8. Wel on June 30th, 2008 5:03 pm

    My two friends are still missing.They are both musicians and are scheduled to come back here in Korea this July, after a one month vacation in the Philippines. They are both the bread winners in their family. My lady friend supports her sister in her schooling, sends her salary every month to her family.

    200,000 pesos is not enough.

    I would like to say it again. 200,000 pesos compensation is NOT ENOUGH. SULPICIO LINES, 200,000 pesos is not enough. Gumagastos ang mga pamilya nila ngayon, ang mga iba, maaaring humiram pa, panggastos sa paghahanap ng mahal nila sa buhay. Ano ba sa tingin nyo ang matitira sa 200,000 pesos na ibinibigay nyo, matapos nilang mailibing ang mga mahal nila? 200,000 pesos lang ba ang halaga ng buhay, ang hirap ng kalooban ng mga nagmamahal sa kanila, ang mga gamit nila na nawala sa barko, ang mga gastos sa paghahanap sa kanila ng kanilang pamilya, ang libing. 200,000 pesos lang?

    Up to this time, SuLpicio lines, still has not admitted any wrong doings, still says it is an ACT of God. Sulpicio, please…we are not dumb.

    And now, because of the illegal, poisonous cargo you have been carrying, retreiving the bodies had been stopped and more difficult to do.

    So i say, if found guilty for negligence (etc), SULPICIO MUST PAY MORE.

    Ana, Leslie, we love you and we miss you. We are still holding on for a miracle.

  9. Wel on June 30th, 2008 5:34 pm

    Although according to Ryan go of Sulpicio lines, that aside from the 200,000 pesos that the victims family will receive, they will also pay for the burial expenses. That is remained to be seen.

    just read what the families are saying…..
    http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2008/06/27/class.suit.set.v..sulpicio.lines.html

  10. jhay on June 30th, 2008 8:03 pm

    All this reminds me of how ABS-CBN dealt with the victims of Wowowee stampede years ago. Money, it’s all about money. Keeping it.

  11. Sulpicio Lines’ Legal Maneuverings, The Hypocrisy, and updates | Filipino Voices on July 1st, 2008 7:49 pm

    […] wrote two days back that Sulpicio is trying to weasel their way out of this tragedy that they most certainly had a big hand in, the way they are going about it smacks of a company who […]

  12. Quest for the True North » Blog Archive » If you were in front of him, what would you tell him? on July 19th, 2008 4:44 pm

    […] past few weeks we’ve read and heard about how Sulpicio has tried to squirm out of […]

Leave a Reply