Members of the Doña Paz Tragedy Claimants Association Inc. gather in Quezon City, in Manila on Dec. 20, to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the sinking of the MV 'Doña Paz' in 1987. (Photos courtesy of Danny Clores)
Family members of victims of a Philippine maritime accident that killed more than 4,000 people 36 years ago have called on President Ferdinand Marcos and the country’s lawmakers to ensure they receive justice and compensation.
The tragedy occurred when the passenger ferry, MV Doña Paz, sank after colliding with an oil tanker in the Tablas Strait about 175km south west of Manila, on Dec. 20, 1987.
National Geographic magazine termed the ill-fated ferry as “Asia’s Titanic” and “the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster of the 20th century,” according to Safety4Sea, a group promoting maritime safety globally.
The call for justice was made during an event marking the 36th anniversary of the tragedy in Quezon City in Manila on Dec. 20.
It was organized by Doña Paz Tragedy Claimants Association Inc., a group of the victims' family members.
“We have been gathering for 36 years now to commemorate, yet until now we have not gotten justice. We are ready to die for what we are fighting for,” Nedita Nonay Relagio told UCA News.
Relagio lost her son Ernani and father Andres in the tragedy.
While the names of Relagio’s son and father were not on the ship’s “manifest”, she maintained that she had all the proof to show that her loved ones were among the victims .
“I am begging for President Marcos Jr. to investigate this grave injustice done to us,” Relagio said.
Jenny Dela Cruz, another claimant, said she lost her mother, two siblings, and an aunt in the disaster.
“What happened was very difficult for us because I was very young when I lost my loved ones. This is why I am also seeking justice for what happened to them,” Dela Cruz told UCA News.
The association’s president Danny Clores said they hope the government would pay attention to their plight.
"I hope our grievances will finally be heard, especially with President Marcos Jr., whose mother is from Tolosa, Leyte, as most of the MV Doña Paz victims were Waraynon [natives of Leyte]. I hope they will be given attention. Many claimants are already old,” Clores said.
During the gathering, lawyer Haron Ali urged the claimants to continue their fight.
On his part, Clores said that he had already received compensation.
“As the leader of the group, I have to fight for those members who continue to wait for recompense,” he said.
There are still families of "more or less 30 percent of the victims who have yet to receive their claims," he said.
A native of Barugo town in Leyte province in the central Philippines, Clores lost his father and two other family members during the sinking.
The casualty figure was nearly three times higher than that in the famous sinking of the British luxury liner Titanic in the Atlantic during its maiden voyage in 1912.
About 1,500 of its 2,240 passengers perished in that tragedy.
The Doña Paz association was established in 2018 and has been relentlessly campaigning for those who have not yet received their compensation, said Clores who was 17 at the time of the tragedy.
In 2017, families of victims from Tacloban City, Catbalogan City, and Manila received more than 200,000 peso (US$3,609) from the owner of the oil tanker, Vector, which had about one million liters of gasoline and other petroleum products on board when the collision and explosion took place, reports say.
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