Tragedy’s Fine Print

Written on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 1:31 pm | by Ding G. Gagelonia

Sulpicio Lines is eager to immediately stave off any potential class action suit in the aftermath of its latest killer incident: the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars which had been billed as the crown jewel of the tragedy-ridden shipping company.

Even as prayers continue for Navy frogmen to still find any more survivors among the more than 650 still missing, Sulpicio is already assuring it will pay 200,000 pesos as ‘bereavement assistance’ for each death.

This as the owners are asserting that the incident “was an act of God.”

But ask any lawyer worth his salt: the relatives of the dead, to qualify for the pay-out must have proof: the body of the deceased or at the very least a certification of presumed death ,which under the law can only be issued by the civil registrars at the earliest, 2 years after a person goes missing under unusual circumstance such as a plane crash or the sinking of a sea-going vessel.. And If the circumstances of one’s disappearance are considered ‘normal’, the waiting period is 4 years with the other party, in this case Sulpicio Lines, having the ‘right’ to contest each and every claim.

So there you are. Sulpicio knows the game only too well, having a record of one vessel sinking every five years these past two decades.

Tags: , , , ,
Add to del.icio.us | Digg this! | Yahoo MyWeb | Google Bookmark It! | Stumble It!
About The Author: Ding G. Gagelonia is a journalist of some 30 years, having worked in both radio and TV news and public affairs since his teens. Ding Gagelonia now writes independently and does corporate communications consulting. He has two kids, Felice and Luis. His journalist blog is at midfield.wordpress.com

Filed Under National News, Society

Related Entries:

Comments

5 Responses to “Tragedy’s Fine Print”

  1. AdB on June 26th, 2008 7:32 pm

    Re: “So there you are. Sulpicio knows the game only too well, having a record of one vessel sinking every five years these past two decades.”

    Then tit for tat! Subpoena all their records to investigate ever bit of dot, comma, Ts, etc. in their maintenance record and grill every tom dick and harry (from Marina, Coast Guard authorities, DOTC, politicos, insurance brokers, etc) who may have had a hand in keeping Sulpico Lines afloat till the end of time so as to keep them from operating…

    Remember Amoco Cadiz disaster off the coast of Brittany? The victims hassled the company from day 1 that kept them operating — took almost 30 years to arrive at compensation but they brought Amoco Cadiz company down!

  2. AdB on June 26th, 2008 7:33 pm

    Ooops, The victims hassled the company from day 1 that kept them FROM operating …

  3. Jon Limjap on June 27th, 2008 10:18 am

    But the collective tendency of the Filipino people to “forgive” because we are such a “Christian” people will whither that resolve long before any case will be filed in court.

    As much as I am Chinese Filipino, the Go family of Sulpicio Lines is the kind of Chinese businessmen we should really, really, really be ashamed of.

  4. benign0 on June 27th, 2008 10:35 am

    Pinoys are some of the world’s biggest suckers.

    Sulpicio’s forgiven 20 years of infamy is joined by our pathetic forvieness of the Marcos’s and our apparent inability to see beyond Cory’s tired yellow suit.

  5. cvj on June 27th, 2008 11:38 am

    Jon, is there a way the Chinese-Filipino business community can get together and take action against one coming from their own ranks? If yes, that would be great.

Leave a Reply