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TO MAKE compensation claims easier, owners of the MV Princess of the Stars said it would waive a one-year claim period for families of victims in the ill-fated ship voyage.
Sulpicio Lines Inc., in a statement, said it would pay legal heirs P200,000 whether or not the bodies of the passengers have been found or identified.
As long as the name of the passenger is listed in the ship?s manifest, legal heirs can file a claim and submit identification papers to collect the amount.
Legal heirs include children, parents and spouses.
?Sulpicio Lines Inc. has decided to cast aside legal technicalities and waive the waiting period of one year within which missing passengers will be compensated,? the company announced in an ?ex-gratia? statement.
Ex-gratia is a Latin phrase for ?out of goodwill?.
?Instead, the legal heirs of all victims listed in the passenger manifest (724 persons) will be paid the amount of P200,000 regardless of whether the bodies have been recovered or are still missing, and regardless of whether the bodies have been identified or not up to this time.?
It said there was ?no need to hire the services of a lawyer because the claims will be acted upon with dispatch and with as simple documentation as possible.?
The company said this was ?the least we could do? for the loss of ?valued passengers? even as it cited President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s concern in the sea tragedy. (See full statement in Opinion, page 12)
An angry Arroyo, speaking in the United States, said he was holding the ferry company ?accountable? for the sinking and demanded a full investigation.
The next of kin or heirs can file their claims in the Sulpicio Lines office in Manila or Cebu City.
ID documents to be submitted include the birth certificate and marriage contract of victims and claimants.
The claimant has to show a valid cedula, government ID, voter?s ID, and affidavit of relationship to the victim.
