St. Thomas Aquinas sinking remembered in ceremony

CEBU, Philippines - Although only one family member of victims of last year’s collision between a cargo ship and a ferry attended yesterday morning’s memorial ceremony off the waters of Talisay City, Cebu, it was nevertheless a solemn remembering of the over 200 who die that day.

Philippine Coast Guard Central Visayas District Commander Weniel Azcuna said that they were willing to support and provide assistance to survivors and relatives of victims who wanted to go to the sunken site to remember the August 16, 2013 sinking.

“We leave it up to the relatives. We might unwittingly open up the painful issue if we initiate to commemorate the incident even if we are not the aggrieved party,” he said.

Yesterday Fr. Tito Soquiño of the Knight-Stewards of the Sea, Inc. (Seaknights) officiated the blessing ceremony and prayer offering for the eternal repose of those who perished in the tragedy.

“We pray that hopefully this will never happen again,” he said.

He joined Joseil Enecio, who sent a letter to the PCG requesting for a vessel for a wreath laying and flower offering at the site where MV Thomas Aquinas sank after colliding with MV Sulpicio Express Siete.

Enecio was the only relative who sought the assistance of the Philippine Coast Guard to commemorate and honor their departed loved ones.

“The date marks a very difficult and painful period for our family since we lost three of our relatives during the tragedy,” she said in her letter.

The body of her great-grandfather Rolando Enecio, 78, was recovered after a month of the fatal collision.

Rolando’s wife, Marianita, and their son, Joseph, are among the missing and whose bodies may still be inside the MV Thomas Aquinas.

Rolando was in the military service while Marianita, who celebrated her birthday the day before the tragedy, was a retired teacher. Joseph, a businessman based in Cagayan de Oro, was the fifth of 10 children of Rolando and Marianita, who lived in Agusan.

Juliet Enecio-Romano, daughter of Rolando and aunt of Joseil, expressed eagerness to come to Cebu for the observance but was not able to since she had to look out for her children.

Joseil and her brother represented the family during the memorial since they live in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

Juliet said she continues to offer prayers for her family members and still hopes that the body of her mother and her brother would be found.

“When someone you love dies, you never quite get over it. You just live to slowly go on without them, but always keeping them tucked safely within your heart,” Rolando’s youngest son, Caesar, told The FREEMAN. He is currently based in Qatar.

Giovanni, another family member, also thanked 2GO Groups Inc., owner of MV Thomas Aquinas, for its full support to the families of victims.

2GO officials were also there during the memorial activity. 

2GO spokesperson and Supercat Fast Ferry Corp. general manager Lito Salvio said they prayed for the continued strength of the bereaved families to help them move on from the tragedy.

He said the shipping company has settled almost all of the claims that have been filed since last year.

“In fact pati ang missing na passengers, we also settled it as earlier than settled. Based on our records, kaunti na lang ang pending na claims,” he said.

Salvio said 2GO has extended close to P50 million in passenger-related financial assistance to the families and survivors of the sea mishap.

The amount includes financial assistance, baggage claim, medical assistance, death benefits for casualties and missing passengers, repatriation, and accidental medical assistance.

Salvio said the shipping firm likewise spent around P180 million for the total cost of oil spill clean-up, cash, and food-for-work assistance to Cordova fisher folks, fuel and oil siphoning, and passenger-related claims.

He also the Enecios that he would personally assist them if their claims are still pending. 

Also, as to the danger MV St. Thomas Aquinas might cause to other sea-going vessels since it sank at a busy shipping lane, Salvio said its presence has little effect on vessel traffic.

This, he said, was assured by their hired foreign experts from London Offshore Consultants.

“The removal (of MV Thomas Aquinas) will cause months of disruption and losses to the port and city and will expose the salvage and diving team to significant risks,” he said on the prospect of refloating the ship.

Meanwhile, Filipino Cave Divers president Bernil Gastardo said that the presence of their organization at the memorial also symbolized a sense of closure on their part, as they were among those who recovered the cadavers inside the sunken MV St. Thomas Aquinas.

“We wanted to dive in the wreck after the last dives but we realized it is not very wise anymore because the bodies have already decomposed,” he said.

He recalled that apart from the risks of entanglement and the depth of the water, their biggest challenge that time was the shock of seeing the bodies.

He recounted the image of that of a girl whose leg got caught by a line as something that is still very vivid in his memory even until now.

The girl, he said, was found outside the ship and looked like she was trying to reach towards the surface  only that her leg got trapped and was carried down.

A week after the last dives they did last September, Gastardo said he experienced post-traumatic stress when he took a boat to Ozamis and had flashbacks at the sunken site.

“I had palpitations. I saw an image of boat full of people,” he said.

During the retrieval operations, Gastardo was responsible of taking photos and videos. He admitted that even up to now, he could not dare to watch again some of the videos he took.

Asked how he coped after the experience he said “talking about it a lot helps.”—/RHM   (FREEMAN)