The Court of Appeals (CA) has held the owners of Sulpicio Lines Inc. liable for the deaths of 814 passengers and the disappearance of more than 500 individuals in the 2008 sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars off Romblon. The court ordered the owners to pay P129.8 million in damages to the families of the victims.
In a 237-page decision authored by Associate Justice Wilhelmina Jorge-Wagan, the appellate court found the owners of Sulpicio Lines, now known as Philippine Span Asia Carriers Inc. (PSACI), guilty of gross negligence. A copy of the decision was obtained by The Manila Times.
The ruling, dated June 28, 2024, and sent to the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), affirmed the decision of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 49, which had previously declared that the owners failed to fulfill their duties as common carriers.
The PAO, representing the heirs and survivors of the MV Princess of the Stars, filed the civil cases following the vessel’s capsizing during Typhoon Frank on June 21, 2008.
The Court of Appeals affirmed with modifications the award for actual, compensatory, moral, and exemplary damages granted by the Manila RTC. It ordered Enrique Go, Eusebio Go, Carlos Go, Victoriano Go, Dominador Go, Ricardo Go, Edward Go, and Edgar Go to pay a total of P129,854,502.57 to the victims’ families and relatives.
