Author: pouano

Case Digest: Eastern Shipping Lines, Inc. vs. CA, G.R. No. 97412, July 12, 1994 (234 SCRA 78)

Leave a comment

This case is about a shipment that got damaged. The product was Riboflavin, shipped from Japan to the Philippines.

Parties:

  • Shipping Company: Eastern Shipping Lines, Inc.
  • Arrastre Operator: Metro Port Service
  • Broker-forwarder: Allied Brokerage Corporation
  • Insurer: Mercantile Marine

Facts

Two fiber drums of riboflavin from Japan aboard the SS Eastern Comet were being shipped to the Philippines. The shipment was insured by Mercantile Marine for PHP 36M.

When it arrived in Manila, received by Metro Port Service, one drum was in bad order. It was later received by Allied Brokerage Corporation with one drum opened and without seal. It was later delivered to consignee’s warehouse with one drum having spillages, and other contents were adulterated/fake.

Mercantile Marine:

  • contended that consignee suffered losses totaling: PHP 19K
  • paid consignee 19K (under the marine insurance policy); after which it became subrogated to all the rights of action
  • contended that there was combined negligence of Eastern Shipping Lines, Metro Port Service, and Allied Brokerage Corporation (“defendants”), to whom it presented claims, but refused to pay

Court of First Instance:

  • said “these losses/damages occurred before the shipment reached the consignee while under the successive custodies of defendants”
  • ordered defendants to pay 19K to Mercantile Marine
    • with legal interest:
      • rate: 12% per annum
      • from: date of filing of the complaint

Eastern Shipping Lines appealed.

Court of Appeals:

  • affirmed

Eastern Shipping Lines appealed again, claiming interest should be:

  • rate: 6% per annum
  • from: date of the decision of the trial court

Issues and Rulings

(1) whether the applicable rate of interest is 12% or 6%

  • 12% per annum

(2) whether the payment of legal interest on an award for loss or damage is to be computed from the time the complaint is filed or from the date the decision appealed from is rendered

  • from the date of the decision

At day at the Puerto Princesa Subterranean / Underground River

Leave a comment

I feel slightly ashamed that I have never heard of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean/Underground River [National Park] before it was chosen as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. So my friends and I went to see it last week, as part of our Palawan trip’s Day 2 itinerary.

This national park has been open to the public since 1991 (according to our tour guide). The river is 8.2 kilometers long but only 1.5 km is open to the public. To get a few kilometers more, one needs to pay an additional fee. It is the longest navigable underground river in the world. The cave which it winds through includes major stalactite and stalagmite formations. The national park is also home to diverse flora and fauna.

The underground river is 50km from the main city of Puerto Princesa. From the city, we rode a shuttle van for about 1.5 hours, while our tour guide gave us some interesting tidbits on the river and Palawan in general.

Image

Shuttle van ride going to Sabang

We had a quick stopover where we could see the Tres Marias islands, a popular dive site.

Image

We also passed by breath-taking sceneries and stopped by to take some photos.

Image

The stuff elementary school art drawings are made of. See the two bahay kubo on the foot of the mountain?

After the road travel, we arrived in the town of Sabang. We then hired a ferry boat to take us to the underground river site. Again, there were some amazing views of mountains and rock formations. You could clearly see the product of millions of years of earth movement just by looking at the these rocks.Image

Image

See that cavity? That must have been on sea level millions of years ago.

Image

Finally, we arrived at the site. The park has official photographers to take your photos while at the site. The photos can then be bought later on for 175 pesos, per one (hard) copy. No thanks! We just had our own photo shoot!

Image

What a beautiful backdrop! It would seem like we were just photoshopped into the photo.

Image

They should really upgrade this signage, don't you think?

Image

Image

Short walk going to where the boats are.

We rode a small boat which was used to navigate the underground river. A boatman is assigned to us, who is responsible for navigating our boat inside the river and talking us through the whole ride.

Image

Wacky shot daw.

Image

Cave entrance

We wound through the river at a very slow pace, just enough to be able to appreciate the surroundings. The persons seated at the front of our boat held the flashlight, while our boatman guided us to see the sightworthy spots of the cave. Unfortunately, no camera (either that or our camera just wasn’t good enough) could capture the beauty of the cave. There were indeed countless rock formations and huge stalactites and stalagmites. There were bats big and small, flying around and making noises (not to mention, lots of guano!) while water drips from the cave ceilings. From time to time we passed by very huge chambers or cave rooms. It was amazing!

Image

One of the "inutil" shots our camera was able to take.

The only, but very major, drawback of the whole trip was our boatman. He was just terrible! I didn’t learn a single thing from him about the river. He just kept on telling tired, unfunny jokes, and repeating them over and over and over. Instead of at least giving some interesting trivia about the river, during the whole trip, he had us look at all the rock formations and tell us what they resembled. Terrible! Not only did he talk the whole ride, his voice was really irritating. It would have been really nice if he talked less, with more sense, and shut up most of the time so we could enjoy the beautiful views inside the cave. The government should do something about this. The boatmen should be educated extensively about the river.

Aside from the boatmen, I noticed that the river didn’t look as pristine as I had hoped, especially near the entrance of the cave where there were vandals on the cave walls. Good thing vandalizing has already been prohibited just recently. Hopefully the declaration of the underground river as preserved area will somehow restore some of the lost beauty, in spite of the influx of tourists.

Overall, the whole trip was magical. The thought of winding through 1.5 kilometers of a river under a huge mountain was incredible. I could only imagine what lies in the rest of the remaining kilometers of the river.

If you’d like to visit the underground river, I recommend getting a tour package or arranging your trip with a travel agency weeks or months before your arrival. Arranging a trip by yourself is a lot of hassle. First you have get a Visitor Entry Permit from the underground river booking office in Puerto Princesa city. Long queues! Next, you need to get a shuttle van from Puerto Princesa to Sabang, then get a boat from Sabang to the underground river site. Then you have to pay for the boat ride inside the river. Not to mention the different fees you have to pay for all these activities, for a total of more or less, 2,000 pesos all-in. Getting a travel agency or tour package is really the best option.

Kalui restaurant in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

1 Comment

Image

Taken from kaluirestaurant.com

On our first night in Palawan, we decided to check out a very popular restaurant, Kalui. It was highly recommended by a friend of one of our companions. Surprisingly, it was fully booked for the night. “This must be a really good restaurant,” all of us must have been thinking. How often does a restaurant get fully booked? The place seats quite a lot of people yet it was full. So we just made a reservation for the following night. “1st batch, sir, or 2nd batch?” We picked 2nd batch, which is at 8:30pm.

When we came back the day after, expectations were high. A guy with a big smile greeted us, and had us remove and put our footwear in one of the baskets provided. Barefoot baby! The wooden floors were really clean and shiny. It complemented the “native” ambience, which was really intimate, with instrumentals of OPM songs as background music. There were different types of tables. We took the “normal” table, while other guests had the low tables and they had to squat, Japanese style. Others were seated outside the “main restaurant” where there were some nice plants around, and the ground was full of smooth pebbles. The interior wasn’t boring as there were lots of decorations such as wooden replicas of fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers and multi-colored plates. There were different textiles hung around everywhere. Overall, the ambience was great! If the designer’s goal was to make the interiors reminiscent of the houses (of the well-off) in the “probinsya”, he was successful.

Image

There were a lot of both Filipino and foreign guests. The waiters were also plentiful, very neat and tidy, full of smiles, snappy and well-trained. No qualms about the service because the waiters were always very attentive. I don’t know, though, if the service would be of the same level if the restaurant was full, like the night before.

Now, the menu. Surprisingly, they have a two-page menu, with very little choices. They were just two pieces of paper inserted into a booklet with a hard cover. (Perhaps they just replace those pieces of paper depending on their menu for the day.) We were pleasantly surprised because the food wasn’t that expensive. Main dishes cost around 195 pesos. They also have a “Day’s Special” which is good for 2 persons, at 380+ pesos. I ordered the Tuna Steak. It came with a cup of rice, and some veggies. My friends ordered the Blue Marlin and the Kalui Special of the Day. The restaurant also provides a little fresh fruit salad as dessert when you’re done with your meal.

Image

Tuna Steak @ 195 PHP

To our dismay, the food wasn’t that great. I mean, my tuna was okay, at best. But everything else was just ordinary. My companions shared the same opinion. All that hype and building up of expectations due to the very good ambience and service, didn’t climax with a great food experience. My friend who had the highest of expectations among the four of us, was very vocal about it. I, however, didn’t say anything since I reckon the price was just okay for the overall experience.

If you are going to Puerto Princesa, Palawan for more than a few days, Kalui would be a good place for one evening, just make sure you make your reservations. However, if you’re only going to be Palawan for 1 or 2 nights, you should consider looking for other restaurants.

Cebu Pacific plane touches wings with Zest Air plane in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Leave a comment

Image

A Cebu Pacific plane touched wings with a Zest Air plane in Puerto Princesa, Palawan airport, last Tuesday 6:30pm. Photo taken inside the terminal where my friends and I were, waiting for our delayed flight. We were just talking when we suddenly heard screams. The Zest Air plane right in front of us was shaking! I wanted to run because I thought the plane was going to ram into the terminal haha Anyway, we went for a closer look. The Cebu Pacific plane was apparently making a U-Turn to get to the runway to take off, but sideswiped the other plane. ZA’s plane’s guide lights were damaged. CP is also looking for damages in the fuel tank.

Our flight, Airphil Express, was delayed because of the incident. My other friends who were boarding the ZA flight when the incident happened were forced to spend the night at Fleuris hotel, care of ZA. CP passengers were reportedly able to fly the same night since CP sent a “rescue flight”.

The airport seems to be able to accommodate only 4 planes at a time. When we were there, there was one plane per airline – Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Zest Air and Airphil Express. The airport was literally full, each plane was very close to another. Palawan’s tourism has dramatically boomed, especially after the naming of the underground river as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, hence the increase in number of flights. Well, time for a bigger airport, Puerto Princesa! Or at least, they should hasten the construction of the new airport (in San Vicente, according to our tour guide).