Widows of 'Princess' crew refuse P20,000-death benefit

By CARINE ASUTILLA ABS-CBN Cebu CEBU CITY - Widows of crewmen of the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) on Thursday called out to families of the other crew members to refuse at least in P20,000 death benefits being offered to them. They said the amount is an insult to their husbands who lost their lives from the tragedy. They said that if the families of passengers got P200,000 in death benefits, they should receive the same. Elina Edisan, whose husband Efren worked as a tool keeper in the ill-fated ship, said that the company is following the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between SLI and the Sulpicio Employees' Union. She said that the CBA stated that both licensed and unlicensed crew of the boat only have P20,000 life insurance. The amount will be doubled if the crew met an accident.... [read full story]