Sulpicio, you can fool us once, twice but never all the time

Sulpicio sues PAGASA for inaccurate weather forecasting
By Allison Lopez, Katherine Evangelista
Philippine Daily Inquirer, INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:26:00 06/30/2008

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Sulpicio Lines Inc. filed a P3-million civil damage suit against the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration for allegedly giving inaccurate weather forecast on typhoon Frank (international codename: Fengshen).

SULPICIO WAS ABLE GET OFF THE HOOK FOR THE SINKING OF MV DONA PAZ, MV DONA MARILYN and MV PRINCESS OF THE ORIENT. THEY THINK BY FILING A CASE AGAINST PAGASA THEY CAN CREATE REASONABLE DOUBT LEADING TO AN ACQUITTAL .

ACCORDING TO A RECENT EDITORIAL OF THE PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER "on Oct. 29, 1988 the Board of Marine Inquiry absolved Sulpicio Lines of any responsibility in the sinking of the MV Doña Paz and found MT Vector at fault. In 1992, a Manila regional trial court held Sulpicio Lines “solely responsible” for the accident and ordered it to pay P1.2 million to the heirs of two victims. In 1996, the Court of Appeals absolved Sulpicio Lines of any liability and laid the blame on Vector and Caltex Philippines, which had leased the tanker. In September 2006 the Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling ordering Sulpicio Lines to pay P14.9 million to the family of an engineer who died in the sinking of the MV Doña Paz.

In the case of MV Doña Marilyn, the Board of Marine Inquiry said the disaster was due to force majeure or “an act of God,’’ and held no one responsible. In September 2000, the Department of Justice dropped the criminal case against Sulpicio Lines in connection with the sinking of MV Princess of the Orient, saying that it could not be held criminally responsible for the accident.

LET US NOT ALLOW SULPICIO TO GO SCOT FREE. TELL YOUR RELATIVES AND FRIENDS TO BE VIGILANT. AS I SAID BEFORE AND I WILL SAY IT AGAIN, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

In praise of David Diaz, Manny Pacquiao's latest knockout victim

Here is the transcript of David Diaz interview after he was floored by Manny Pacquiao. Truly a world class boxer and sportsman, worthy of praise.

Jim Lampley: ... a moment of great sportmanship here. David there was a moment between rounds that you said to your trainor Jim Strickland: "I can handle his punches, he's just too fast." Was that basically the story of the fight?

David Diaz: Yeah, he was too fast. The fucker was too fast.

Jim Lampley: Did you have any idea coming here that he would be that way?

David Diaz: No, I actually saw him on tape and I was like "Yeah, I could deal with that speed," you know. The power was the one I was worried about. But he was too fucking too fast man. Fast, fast, fast.

Jim Lampley: Amazingly fast.

David Diaz: Fast. I though Freddie was in there hitting me too.

Jim Lampley: Hahaha...

David Diaz: Well, you go to the fight, you go in and you risk it. Well, with a guy like this Manny, shit, at least I can say that I fought a good fighter man. And that's all I want. I want to fight. That's it.

Jim Lampley: You got cut in the nose, I think, in the first round. By the 2nd or 3rd round, a cut above your eye appeared. Obviously, Jimmy was trying to do everything to stop, but the blood kept coming. How much did that bother you during the fight?

David Diaz: No, it didn't bother me at all. I thought, he has a knife with him though. I thought he was cutting me a blade. 'Cause he was fast, he was faster than what I expected. I could deal with the power, but it was the speed was more than I thought it was. And I got tricked by his speed.

Jim Lampley: All right, Floyd Mayweather has retired, the argument is who's the best pound for pound fighter in the world now? Is it Pacquiao, is it Joe Calzaghe, is it maybe rising superstar Miguel Cotto. After what you saw tonight, is there really an argument?

David Diaz: Well, yeah, I'm not going to say he's not, he just beat me man. He's good, he's fucking good, my hats go off to him, we went in there, I fought and I gave it my all, and his speed is just a fucking, that thing that sealed it for me. His speed is too uncontrollable. My hats off to him, he's a good fighter and you know, what else can I say? We lost today, tommorow we'll win.

LET'S CLOSE SULPICIO. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

PLEASE TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO PRESSURE GOVERNMENT TO REVOKE SULPICIO'S FRANCHISE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. TOO MANY DEATH IN THE PAST 20 YEARS. YOUR LOVED ONE MIGHT BE NEXT IN THE HANDS OF SULPICIO.

Editorial
Another sea tragedy

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:34:00 06/23/2008

"If Sulpicio Lines were a human being, it would be considered a “recidivist.” It has not been sanctioned and made to pay enough for the big toll in terms of lives lost in the three worst maritime disasters in the country since 1987. On Oct. 29, 1988 the Board of Marine Inquiry absolved Sulpicio Lines of any responsibility in the sinking of the MV Doña Paz and found MT Vector at fault. In 1992, a Manila regional trial court held Sulpicio Lines “solely responsible” for the accident and ordered it to pay P1.2 million to the heirs of two victims. In 1996, the Court of Appeals absolved Sulpicio Lines of any liability and laid the blame on Vector and Caltex Philippines, which had leased the tanker. In September 2006 the Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling ordering Sulpicio Lines to pay P14.9 million to the family of an engineer who died in the sinking of the MV Doña Paz.

In the case of MV Doña Marilyn, the Board of Marine Inquiry said the disaster was due to force majeure or “an act of God,’’ and held no one responsible. In September 2000, the Department of Justice dropped the criminal case against Sulpicio Lines in connection with the sinking of MV Princess of the Orient, saying that it could not be held criminally responsible for the accident.

What all these cases, including the latest tragedy, indicate is that there is a very low regard for the value of human life, a very loose and relaxed set of rules on clearances for sailing, and possible irregularities in the issuance of such clearances."