Survivors, heirs of M/V Doña Paz victims seek relief in US court

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines  — Survivors and heirs of victims of the ill-fated MV Doña Paz in 1987, who were precluded by the Supreme Court of the Philippines to claim indemnity from the ship owner Sulpicio Lines, are now seeking relief instead from the Louisiana Supreme Court in the United States.

Lawyer Leo Giron, whose law firm was among those tapped by the heirs to aid them in this legal battle, disclosed in an interview with The Freeman that a fairness trial will be held on September 15 this year in Lousiana.

In this proceeding, the paymaster of Caltex International will be present to assess the papers of the claimants.

Caltex was the shipper of 8,800 barrels of petroleum products that M/T Vector was transporting when it collided with M/V Doña Paz–traveling from Leyte to Manila—in the evening of December 20, 1987 off  Dumali Point, along the shark-infested Tablas Strait between Marinduque and Oriental Mindoro.

With an estimated death toll of  4,386 people and only 24 survivors, it was the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history.

Upon collision, the M/T Vector's cargo ignited and the fire spread unto the M/V Doña Paz, which was the eventual cause of the huge death toll. Reports further said that most of the survivors sustained burns from jumping into the flaming waters.

On September 30, 1999 in an appeal filed by Caltex against Sulpicio Lines Inc. and Vector Shipping Corporation, among other respondents, the Philippine Supreme Court held Caltex not liable to indemnify the victims' heirs as well as the survivors.

In the decision, the Philippine SC ruled that Caltex was only a shipper in a voyage charter wherein M/T Vector still had the obligation to ensure that the marine tanker was seaworthy, fully equipped and well-manned by qualified and competent crew when it was transporting the petroleum products.

On July 21, 2008, in a certiorari case filed by the Vector Shipping Corp. against Sulpicio Lines and other respondents, the court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeals exonerating Caltex from any liability.

While quite a number of survivors and families of victims who died in the mishap were able to claim in the Philippines indemnity from Sulpicio Lines, the rest were restrained by the High Tribunal on the reason that "each has different interests," according to Giron.

Two groups subsequently were formed to collectively stand for those who were denied relief by the Court: The Bulig-Bulig Kita Association and MAKABIBIDO (Mga Kaparientehan ug Kasangkayan nga Binayaan han mga Biktima han Doña Paz).

Most of them, although recognized as legitimate claimants, did not accept Sulpicio Lines' settlement offer in 1991 of P30,000 per victim.

Giron, who was a new lawyer when he assisted in this legal pursuit that year, aided by Free Legal Assistance Group, added that maritime lawyers and private lawyers are now assisting the supposed claimants in the suits filed in Texas and Louisiana.

"About a thousand claimants, which formed Bulig-Bulig Kita, were met by FLAG lawyers led by lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno in 1991 at the Redemptorist Church (in Tacloban) and I was able to assist," he narrated.

"Vicky Bohol of  Catbalogan whose sibling also died in the tragedy, put up Makabibido and hired lawyer Val Del Rosario of Vera law firm, he added.

Giron said these groups, assisted by an American lawyer, filed a class suit which reached the SC but was subsequently denied.

"Meantime, the FLAG and the Vera law office assisted this American lawyer in filing claims against M/T Vector and Caltex before the Supreme Court of Texas, where Caltex has an office," Giron recalled. "While this case in Texas was pending, they initiated also the filing of a case in the Supreme Court of Louisiana, where the main office of Caltex is located" he said.

According to Giron, these lawyers moved the Louisiana Clerk of Court to hold the actual filing of the case in Louisiana to give preference to the Texas case with the pendency of the latter case indicated in the footnote. "This was to avoid the forum shopping," he clarified.

"In Texas, the court ruled forum non conveniens, which means that the Texas court has no jurisdiction over the case because (the incident) happened in the Philippines, therefore the case should be filed in the Philippines," he disclosed.

"But we cannot anymore go back to the Philippines because the class suit was already dismissed in the Philippines, so the lawyers decided to try their luck in the Louisiana court" he further recalled.

"In Louisiana, Caltex wanted the case dismissed because the incident happened between M/T Vector and M/V Doña Paz averring that it has nothing to do with it," Giron said.

Notwithstanding Caltex' move to have the case against it dismissed, the Louisiana Court heard the case and utilizing the mediation processes, the parties met in Hawaii.

In Hawaii the Filipino counterparts were offered by the lawyers of Caltex US $1million for the victims but "the Filipino lawyers were not agreeable to the terms," said Giron.

This led to the dismissal of the case in Louisiana. A motion for reconsideration was filed by the claimants' lawyers and the order of the court dismissing the case was reconsidered.

"In the mediation process there again, they came up again with a settlement agreement and the Caltex lawyers offered them certain amount on condition that on the fairness trial on September 15, 2016, the Caltex paymaster will first be able to go over the claims that were already prepared," Giron said.

The claimants in the Philippines, who have not updated the required documents through Bulig-Bulig and Makabibido, are given until April 29 this year to submit the same through the law firms tapped for this purpose.

Besides the Giron law office in Tacloban, they can submit these documents at the singson law office in Catbalogan and Asian Social Institute in Metro Manila, according to Giron. These papers will be scrutinized during the fairness trial in Louisiana in September.  (FREEMAN)