Man who went missing during Typhoon ‘Nona’ found dead

CEBU, Philippines – The person who went missing in Daanbantayan town during the onslaught of typhoon Nona had been found dead by a crewmember of a ship that happened to pass by the waters near Malapascua Island, according to a report from Philippine Coast Guard Cebu District.

The Coast Guard Mobile Team based in Maya port in Daanbantayan retrieved the floating body of 23-year-old Jerry Amelosa of Sitio Tawigan, Barangay Logon (Malapascua), Daanbantayan.

It was one of the crew of MV Don Serafin of Roble Shipping Lines who first saw the body and immediately informed the PCG Station in Cebu City in the morning of December 17. The ship was on its way to a Cebu City port.

The body was later identified by Amelosa’s live-in partner, Maelyn Rivera, who told PCG that he went fishing around 5 p.m. of December 11 near Malapascua but failed to return home.

Rivera failed to report the incident to authorities and it was the Coast Guard Mobile Unit which had to verify Amelosa’s identity with the help of barangay officials from Logon, the barangay that covers Malapascua Island. 

Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan is located around 140 kilometers north of Cebu City. —/JMD  (FREEMAN)