Insurance firm rebuffs Sulpicio
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:51:00 07/24/2008
MANILA, Philippines—The protracted effort to retrieve the sunken MV Princess of the Stars and the bodies and toxic cargoes still trapped inside the vessel has been dealt another blow.
Oriental Insurance Corp., underwriter of the 23,800-ton passenger ship, told congressmen on Tuesday evening that it had “denied” the notice of abandonment filed by Sulpicio Lines Inc.
“We denied the notice of abandonment,” Oriental legal counsel Armin Villamonte said during the joint congressional inquiry into the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars.
Under questioning by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, the lawyer said the move was taken because the insurance company was “still conducting its own investigation” of the tragedy.
Rodriguez said the denial meant it would be up to Sulpicio Lines to shoulder the total cost of retrieval operations. Senior Deputy Minority Leader Roilo Golez said the cost could run between P2 billion and P4.5 billion.
“(The denial) is contrary to law and public interest,” Rodriguez said. “Right now, both Sulpicio and Oriental should shoulder the expenses.”
“Oriental is trying to exculpate itself and delay the process [of retrieval],” Rodriguez told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).
Rodriguez said the insurer could not deny the notice considering that Sulpicio Lines had “clearly” experienced “total loss in view of the sinking of the vessel.”
Citing the country’s insurance code, he said “the owner may give a notice of abandonment, and make the insurance company liable for the total amount of the vessel, if the vessel suffered total or constructive total loss.”
Edgar Go, vice president of Sulpicio Lines, earlier announced that his company had filed a notice of abandonment. Rodriguez said the notice meant that the stranded vessel would now be owned by the insurer once it paid Sulpicio Lines the insured amount of P350 million.
Letter of guarantee
In Tuesday’s hearing, Go said his company was working on the letter of guarantee being demanded by US-based Titan Salvage Corp. The salvor apparently wanted an assurance that it would be paid in full before initiating recovery operations.
Golez Wednesday urged the Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General “to posthaste institute proceedings to attach the assets” of both Sulpicio Lines and Del Monte Philippines, owners of the toxic cargo endosulfan.
He said the move would “guarantee payment of their potential liability for the cost of salvage and consequential damage such as destroying the livelihood of Romblon and nearby provinces.”
“Aside from Sulpicio, Del Monte as shipper and owner of the endosulfan cargo could also be held liable for not exercising due diligence in making sure that (its) highly dangerous cargo was handled with extreme care and would not expose human beings and the environment to the deadly substance,” Golez said.
“It must be stressed that the endosulfan cargo has made the salvage operation much more complicated and expensive.”
Del Monte’s promise
Luis Alejandro, Del Monte’s chief operating officer, on Tuesday promised that his company would assist in “environmental rehabilitation” and the people of Sibuyan Island.
But he said Del Monte would do that only if a leakage occurred and it would be proven that it came from the endosulfan cargo.
Golez said he was not buying Alejandro’s commitment: “In business, that’s what you call ‘words of comfort’.”
BMI report returned
Also Wednesday, Vice Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant, said that he returned the report of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) to make a few “minimal” additions before submitting it to the Department of Transportation and Communications.
The BMI submitted on Tuesday its findings and recommendations on its investigation of the June 21 sinking of the Princess of Stars during a typhoon off Sibuyan Island in Romblon. Only 56 of the 860 people aboard survived the disaster.
“I want to further strengthen the report. Everything should be backed by documents,” he said in a phone interview. He did not disclose details but said the report was “fair.” With a report from Leila B. Salaverria
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