Court grants damages to 2 ship passengers

The Regional Trial Court has ordered the appointment of a special sheriff to execute a 10-year-old order, which granted the claim of two passengers for damages for having been disallowed entry into a shipping vessel despite having held boarding tickets.

Then RTC Executive Judge Simeon Dumdum made the order after the Court of Appeals affirmed a decision of the RTC dated April 22, 1998, granting the payment for damages to plaintiffs George Uy and Jennelyn Jamito.

Uy and Jamito had filed the case for damages against Universal Aboitiz Incorporated, owner of the fastcraft Supercat. Each had asked for P150,000 in moral damages; P30,000 in exemplary damages; P25,000 for attorney's fees; and P15,000 for litigation expenses.

However, while it affirmed the RTC decision, the Court of Appeals modified the lower court's ruling and reduced the claim each to P50,000 as moral damages and P15,000 as exemplary damages. The appellate court also deleted the awards for attorney's fees and litigation expenses.

Dumdum ordered the appointment of a special sheriff after the sheriff assigned to implement the writ of execution retired from service. He then designated lawyer Jeoffrey Joaquino, deputy sheriff of the RTC Clerk of Court, to appoint the special sheriff to implement the writ of execution.

Morning of April 4, 1996, Uy and Jamito were supposed to take the Supercat to Bohol, however, were refused entry into the fastcraft for the reason that the vessel was already full. This despite having bought their tickets four days prior to the departure day.

Both failed to convince the security guard and the personnel in-charge, a certain Jayson dela Cruz, that they should have boarding priority being ticket holders. They resulted to taking another vessel, which took them to Bohol already late in the afternoon.

The shipping company had argued that passengers must check in 30 minutes before the departure time and whoever fails to do so must be placed in the waiting list. Ticketed passengers who are not allowed boarding are reportedly booked for the next available vessel and the company takes care of the expenses for their board and lodging while waiting for the next vessel.

However, the court noted that while the shipping company insisted that Uy and Jamito did not check in 30 minutes before depature, the same was belied by Dela Cruz who noted and signed on the tickets that Uy and Jamito indeed checked in 30 minutes before the scheduled time of departure.

In its findings, the court said there was already a perfected contract for the defendant to carry and transport the plaintiffs safely to their destination from the moment of the issuance of the tickets, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code.

The court also noted that neither of the two tickets stated the name of the buyer and the number of the seat. Likewise, defendant's operation manager had also admitted that they had 17 booking offices in Cebu City, nevertheless, did not testify how they would monitor and control the selling of tickets to avoid exceeding the vessel's capacity.

This, the court said, only gave credence to Uy's and Jamito's contention that there were actually many ticketed passengers at the defendant's terminal who were disallowed boarding that same morning.

"This is constitutive of gross neglect on the part of the defendant to put a limit in the sale of its tickets within the vessel's capacity and this should not be made as an excuse for the failure to accommodate the plaintiffs on board its vessels for their scheduled voyage stated in their tickets which they purchased four days before and exempt defendant from any liability resulting therefrom," the court said. - Joeberth M. Ocao