MANILA, Philippines - An oil tanker that figured in what was considered the countrys worst maritime disaster more than two decades ago, was found liable for third-party claims the Supreme Court has ruled.
At the same time, the court affirmed its September 1999 ruling that cleared Chevron Philippines, Inc., which chartered M/T Vector that collided with Sulpicio Lines, Inc.-owned M/V Doña Paz on Dec. 20, 1987. Vector Shipping Corp. owned Vector.
The collision killed more than 4,000 persons on board Doña Paz that was razed by fire ignited upon impact from the 8,800 barrels of oil that spilled from Vector.
Doña Paz left the port of Catbalogan in Samar province en route to Manila when it collided with Masbate province-bound Vector in Tablas Strait.
The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the Macasa family, who lost three relatives in the maritime disaster.
In 1991, the family filed a complaint with the Davao City Regional Trial Court against Sulpicio, seeking indemnity and other compensatory damages.
Sulpicio filed a third-party complaint against Vector Shipping owner Francisco Soriano and then Caltex (Philippines), Inc., renamed Chevron.
The trial court awarded a total of P950,000 to the family to be shared by Sulpicio Lines, Vector Shipping and Caltex.
The Court of Appeals (CA) later on modified the decision and cleared Caltex as a third-party defendant. The award was cut to P800,000.
The third division of the Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court in a 12-page decision penned by Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura.
"It bears emphasis also that this court accords respect to the factual findings of the trial court, especially if affirmed by the CA on appeal... In any event, we have meticulously reviewed the records of the case and found no reason to depart from the rule," the high court noted.
There was no response from Sulpicio, Chevron or Vector Shipping as the decision was released to media late afternoon.
Sulpicio Lines also owned M/V Princess of the Stars that capsized off Sibuyan island in Romblon province at the height of typhoon Frank (international code name: Fensheng) on June 21.
Only 33 survived the tragedy, more than 200 bodies so far recovered, and more than 500 still feared trapped inside the vessel.
Retrieval operations were halted after authorities discovered toxic cargo that went down with the ship. Ira P. Pedrasa, BusinessWorld