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A ruling by the Supreme Court has cleared giant oil firm Caltex
Phils. (now Chevron) from liability as third-party defendant in a
damage suit filed by victims of the MV Dona Paz-MT Vector sea
tragedy off Tablas Strait in Romblon way back in 1987.
The High Court’s Third Division, in a 12-page
decision penned by Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura,
affirmed an earlier ruling of the Court of Appeals exonerating the
oil firm.
The complaint against Caltex was filed by Vector
Shipping Corp. owned by Francisco Soriano, which operated the
Vector, an oil tanker chartered by Caltex to transport oil products.
The collision, which happened in December 20, 1987, is still the
worst sea tragedy in history, claiming the lives of more than 4,000
people.
Sulpicio Lines Inc., owner of the MV Princess of
the Stars that capsized off Sibuyan island on June 26, owned the
Dona Paz.
The High Tribunal said the petitioner failed to
ascribe error on the part of the Manila regional trial court and the
appellate court in rendering its assailed decision dated September
24, 2003, saying the Court accords respect to the factual findings
of the trial court, especially if affirmed by the appellate court.
“We have meticulously reviewed the records of
the case and found no reason to depart from the rule. We cannot turn
a blind eye to this gruesome maritime tragedy which is now a dark
page in our nation’s history,” the High Court ruled.
The High Court junked the contention of Vector
that it is absolved from payment of damages to the victims.
The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the
family of spouses Cornelio and Anacleta Macasa, who perished in the
tragedy along with their eight-year-old grandson Ritchie. Their
bodies were never recovered.
The Macasas filed a
complaint for damages before the Manila court after it denied
Sulpicio’s initial offer of P200,000 for the death of their kin.
---William B. Depasupil
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