Families of victims of MV Princess of the Stars mishap welcome case reinstatement

MANILA, Philippines — The families of the victims of the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars in Romblon in 2008 are “happy” over the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision to reinstate the case, the Public Attorneys Office (PAO) said Monday.

The SC ordered the reinstatement of the criminal case against Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) First Vice-President for Administration and team leader of the Crisis Management Committee, Edgar Go, for his failure to closely monitor and assess the movement of the vessel and track of Typhoon “Frank,” leading the MV Princess of the Stars to capsize in June 2008.

The incident resulted in 227 deaths while 592 others went missing.

READ: What Went Before: Sinking of MV Princess of the Stars

Following the reinstatement of the case, PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta thanked the SC for seeking justice for the victims and their families.

“The relatives of the victims and survivors of the MV Princess of the Stars are happy to know that the criminal case filed by them, through the free assistance of PAO, would eventually be successfully prosecuted,” Acosta said in a statement.

She added that the families of the victims have been waiting for 10 years for the case to be reinstated.

In 2009, a Department of Justice (DOJ) panel indicted Go and several others for reckless imprudence at the Manila RTC.

The Court of Appeals’ (CA), however, acquitted Go, saying the Department of Justice erred when it blamed Go for the sinking of the ship. /ee

READ: Appeals court clears Sulpicio Lines exec of liability over ship sinking