Families of M/V Doña Paz victims to commemorate tragedy on Dec. 17

MANILA, Philippines - Families and friends of the 4,047 victims of the ill-fated M/V Doña Paz will gather on Thursday to commemorate the death of passengers and crew who perished in the tragic incident that happened almost 22 years ago.

Co-counsel for the Doña Paz victims lawyer Valeriano del Rosario, of the Del Rosario Bagamasbad & Raboca, announced that the relatives of the victims will have a remembrance and memorial service on Dec. 17, from 9 a.m. until noontime at the Asian Social Institute located along Leon Guinto corner Escoda Streets, Ermita, Manila City.

There will also be a solemn Mass for the victims and their families. Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan is expected to join the gathering.

It can be recalled that at around 10 p.m. of Dec. 20, 1987, the Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) M/V Doña Paz collided with the oil tanker M/T Vector at the coast of Dumali Point, in Mindoro.

This was regarded as the “worst disaster in terms of loss of life in the history of maritime commerce.”

The passenger ship was filled with passengers picked up from Tacloban, Leyte and Catbalogan, Samar. It was on its way to Manila when it collided with the oil tanker, which is owned by the Vector Shipping Corp. At the time of the incident, the tanker was about to deliver gasoline and kerosene from the Bataan refinery to Masbate.

As a result of the collision, the tanker caught fire that spread to its combustible cargo and led to an explosion. The Philippine government estimated that only 24 people survived and more than 4,000 people died from the tragedy. But only 108 bodies were recovered.

At that time, “The Philippine government convened a Board of Marine Inquiry to investigate the cause of the disaster. The board issued its findings on Oct. 7, 1988 and found that the Vector was unseaworthy for many reasons and was at fault,” lawyer Del Rosario said in a statement.

A group of lawyers from the Philippines has been coordinating with lawyers from the United States and the United Kingdom and filed class suits in Texas and in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The case in Texas was dismissed while in Louisiana, it was given the case no. 88-24481 in the Civil District Court.

The case is based on the allegations that negligence on the part of Caltex Philippines and its parent and affiliate corporations. The other defendant is Steamship Mutual that provided passenger liability insurance for the M/V Doña Paz.

Against all odds, the Louisiana law suit has survived over 20 years since it was filed in 1988.