Court upholds plea of Manila opera singer

The Supreme Court recently upheld a lower court's decision in a 12-year old lawsuit filed by Andion Fernandez, a popular Filipina soprano, against Singapore Airlines, whose delayed flights caused her to perform poorly before the king and queen of Malaysia in 1991.

In a 14-page decision by Justice Romeo Callejo, the Apex Court upheld a lower court's decision that Singapore Airlines should pay the Filipina opera singer P475,000 ($3,636) in damages for her delayed flight from Frankfurt to Manila on January 28, 1991. This resulted in a domino effect which eventually delayed her flight from Manila to Kuala Lumpur on January 29, for a concert there from February 3 and 4.

The High Court also chastised a staff member of Singapore Airlines who told Fernandez, "It's your problem not ours," following her complaint for the delay. The flight delay and the airline personnel's remark gave her a skin rash and fatigue, and made her perform poorly.