THE Department of Justice (DOJ) affirmed the recommendation of its investigating body and allowed the filing of criminal charges against Sulpicio vice president Edward Go and deceased vessel captain Florencio Marimon for the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars on June 20, 2008.
DOJ dismissed for lack of merit Go’s petition to drop the case.
It maybe recalled that the DOJ investigating team found Go liable for the tragedy because of his “failure to prevent or discourage the ship to depart from the Port of Manila despite prevailing bad weather conditions” because he was “responsible for operations, movement and safety of the vessel.”
Investigators said Go “failed to give orders to drop anchor or take refuge for temporary shelter for the ship.”
On the other hand, Marimon, who died when the ship sank, was negligent and “lacked foresight and precaution in observing seamanship rules” when he decided to sail even in bad weather.
The Princess of the Stars sank off the coast of Romblon during the height of typhoon Frank, killing more than 400 passengers and leaving hundreds of its 800 passengers missing up to now.
Sulpicio is also the owner and operator of the MV Doña Paz that killed more than 3,000 passengers when it was rammed by Korean flag tanker MT Vector in December 1987. The Doña Paz disaster—also known as Asia’s Titanic—is considered the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.
