PRINCESS OF THE STARS SINKING: Sulpicio top executive still absolved of criminal charges

Appelate court says no new argument presented against Edgar Go

The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed its ruling which dismissed the criminal charges filed against an executive of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) over the sinking in 2008 of the M/V Princess of the Stars.

In a resolution, the appellate court’s 15th disivion denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the Department of Justice, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and relatives of almost 800 passengers and crew who perished in the sea mishap.

The CA said the petitioners failed to raise new issues for them to reverse an earlier ruling that cleared Edgar Go, vice president for administration of SLI.
Lawyer Persida Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney’s Office, said they will contest the decision of the CA before the Supreme Court.

“Hindi basta-basta mawawalan ng hope ang families ng mga victims. (The families of the victims won’t simply lose hope),” she told CDN over the phone.
Acosta said the civil cases filed against Go and other Sulpicio Lines officials would continue.

Levy Samuele, whose brother and three-year-old niece died when Princess of the Stars sank, said they have not received a copy of the latest CA ruling.
He said they would not give up easily.

“Hindi namin bibitawan ang criminal case. Alam naman natin na marami ang namatay. Ipaglalaban namin ang kaso kahit aabot kami sa Supreme Court. (We will not let go of the criminal case.

We know very well that several people died in that incident. We will fight for them even if we reach the Supreme Court),” Samuel told CDN yesterday.
He said losing a loved one is certainly not easy.

“Kailangang mayroong managot. Trabaho nila na ihatid na safe ang mga pasahero. Namatay ang mga tao sa loob mismo nga kanilang barko. (Someone should be held answerable for what happened. It’s the job of ship owners to bring all the passengers safe to their destination),” Samuele said.

“Kung hindi sila managot dito sa lupa, sa itaas na sila mananagot. (If they won’t answer for what they did here, they will surely be accountable in heaven),” he added.

The MV Princess of the Stars owned by Sulpicio Lines left the port of Manila en route to Cebu at the height of Typhoon Frank. The ship had 820 passengers and crew on board. It capsized off Romblon on June 21, 2008. Only 32 survived.

The public uproar against Sulpicio Lines prompted the company to recast its corporate identity. The company has since changed its name to Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp.