Tragedy's Fine Print

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 rown 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 announcing that 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 tha person goes missing under unusual circumstance such as a plane crash or the sinking of a sea-goig vessel. If the circumstances of one's disappearance are considered 'normal', the waiting period is 7 years with the other party, in this 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.

The Sinking Feeling

I don't like to write when I'm angry. Also would not have wanted to start this blog with a sad story.

But the latest Philippine maritime disaster: the sinking of the inter-island ferry Princess of the Stars owned by notorious Sulpicio lines cannot but give anyone a bout of depression. Pardon the unintended pun: a truly sinking feeling. The feeling that someone somewhere should hang for this.

This early morning here in Manila far from the murky waters off San Fernando Mindoro we cannot sense the deathly quiet nor smell the stench of bloated bodies. But we are told that with 22 confirmed dead and 59 confirmed survivors, a staggering number of 785 souls remain missing and,by now, feared dead.

Yes the search and rescue choppers are still hovering atop the overturned hull of the ship with the top part of the bow jutting out of the water while coast guard ships and puny fishermen's bancas circling the site looking for any sign of life.

The relatives of the missing are already wailing, grieving nervously at Manila's Pier 12 waiting, hoping to hear something other than reports of more bodies being plucked out of the water or washing on the shore of San Fernando town.

But instead of hopeful news,the mayor of San Fernando was appealing on national radio late yesterday afternoon for body bags and lime so they could tend to the dead.

To underline her own despair and anger, the lady mayor described how they've been been forced to sprinkle white cement on the recovered cadavers just to stem the decomposition while waiting for help. She also complained: not a single call had come, she said, from Sulpicio Lines, to coordinate and help.

And while representatives of the company are reportedly going to Romblon via Aklan this morning, unless they can part the waters off Romblon and raise the dead, there is little else they can do.

The press reports now say how the shiptain's order to abandon ship came only when Princess of the Stars was already tilting very badly so much so that the passengers were already in panic.

In fact even while the vessel was supposedly only three years and had a full complement of life boats and life vests, only four of the listed survivors had vests on.

This time unlike the other Sulpicio tragedies: the sinkings od MV Dona Paz and NV Dona Marilyn, Princess of the Stars was not overloaded.

But the question now emerging is that it was allowed to leave port even while its destination was under severe storm alerts.

So the blame putting has now begun with even the Speaker of the House of Representatives asking for Sulpicio Lines' license to be revoked. That's it?

I don't only have a sinking feeling. I want to puke.