By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
THE girlfriend of missing MV Mariana crewman Landon Delos Reyes has petitioned the Superior Court for Letters of Administration, saying she cannot manage his estate or legal affairs without being formally appointed administrator.
Shirley Lizama, represented by attorney Andrés Ojeda Morales of Dotts Law Office, filed the petition on June 18, seeking authority to administer Delos Reyes’ estate. Delos Reyes has been missing since the Mariana capsized during Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
Lizama is also asking the court to issue a declaration of death under 8 CMC § 2106(c), which allows a presumption of death when a person is exposed to a specific peril and cannot be located despite a diligent search.
The petition states that Delos Reyes’ minor son is his sole heir and that probate proceedings cannot move forward without a judicial declaration of death and the issuance of Letters of Administration.
According to the filing, Delos Reyes has not been located since April 15, when the 145-foot cargo vessel lost power roughly 140 miles north-northwest of Saipan. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search on April 29 after covering more than 135,000 square nautical miles. The vessel was later found capsized about 100 nautical miles northeast of its last known position.
The petition further states that the absence of a legally appointed administrator has prevented the handling of estate matters, including potential claims arising from the Mariana incident.
The court has not yet scheduled a hearing on Lizama’s petition.
Earlier, Alicia Agulto, the mother of missing crewman Vincent Agulto, filed her own petition for Letters of Administration and a supporting motion for presumptive death on June 17. Presiding Judge Joseph N. Camacho has scheduled an evidentiary hearing on Alicia Agulto’s petition for June 30. In her declaration, she said her son was one of five crew members aboard the U.S.-registered dry cargo vessel when it became disabled and later capsized in the Pacific during the Category 5 storm.
Delos Reyes and Vincent Agulto are among the five crewmen who remain missing from the Mariana.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
