EDITORIAL - 21 years and counting

Now you can understand why efforts to improve maritime safety have moved at snail’s pace in this country. And why most survivors or heirs of victims in deadly maritime disasters prefer to accept compensation proffered outright by ship owners rather than go to court and try to put those liable behind bars.

Nearly 21 years after the ferry Doña Paz collided with the oil tanker Vector in the waters between Marinduque and Oriental Mindoro, the Supreme Court has ruled on a case filed by relatives of three of the fatalities. The SC, in a decision last Thursday, cleared Caltex Philippines Inc. of any liability in the disaster. Caltex had chartered the oil tanker, which was owned by Vector Shipping Corp. and Francisco Soriano.

The SC may still be asked to reconsider its ruling. How long will it take before a final ruling is handed down? It took eight years before the Davao Regional Trial Court ruled in favor of the victims’ relatives, awarding them a total of P450,000 in indemnity, damages and attorney’s fees. That’s P150,000 for each life lost. For litigation fees alone, that P450,000 would be woefully insufficient.

It took another eight years before the Court of Appeals modified the RTC’s decision, exonerating Caltex but holding Sulpicio Lines Inc., which owned Doña Paz, as well as Vector Shipping and Soriano liable for the disaster. Vector elevated the case to the Supreme Court, which took five years to hand down its ruling.

Over 4,000 people died in that collision, classified as the worst peacetime maritime disaster in the world. The disaster did not sink Sulpicio; on the contrary, the company has thrived, despite more deadly disasters involving its ferries over the next two decades.

These days Sulpicio is battling its latest case, blaming everyone including weather forecasters for the disaster that struck its top-of-the-line ferry, the Princess of the Stars. Over 800 people died or remain missing in this disaster. Without waiting for the results of ongoing investigation, Sulpicio offered P200,000 to each survivor or relatives of each of the dead or missing. With the pace of litigation in this country, it’s no surprise that many accepted the money in an informal settlement. In this country, justice is elusive, and there is no such thing as human error when it comes to keeping maritime transportation safe. Every disaster is simply an act of God.