Noy: Focus on search, rescue operations

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino yesterday ordered authorities to give priority to search and rescue operations for the seven people still missing from the passenger ferry that sank off Burias Island in Masbate on Saturday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Aquino has expressed concern over the still missing passengers in the sea accident that left two passengers dead.

“The first concern of the President was the search and rescue operations,” Valte said.

Valte said the Philippine Navy also sent its search and rescue units to help locate the missing passengers.

“Hopefully, we can find the other passengers (who are still missing),” Valte said.

The regional Office of Civil Defense (OCD) identified the missing as Abegail Barredo, Noan Manucan, Fe Rapsing, Leticia Andaya, Arian Comidor, Jonas Comidor, and Jocelyn Danao.

OCD regional director Raffy Alejandro said 61 survivors have been rescued, 39 of them passengers and 22 crewmembers.

The bodies of two fatalities have also been recovered, bringing to 70 the total number of people who were on M/V Our Lady of Mount Carmel when it sank off Burias Island early Saturday.

Alejandro said four of the missing –Jonas and Arian Comidor, Rapsing and Danao – were not listed in the passenger manifest.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) regional deputy commander for operations Nelson Torre said an investigation is underway to determine if there was negligence on the part of the officers and crew of Carmel or if it was an accident.

“We will also determine why only 57 of the passengers were listed in the manifest. The statement that they (were) not listed because they did not pay is a pure alibi because every person on board the ship must be listed down regardless of whether they are paying or non-paying passengers,” Torre said.

Navy Southern Luzon acting commander Percival Ecleo said divers had started to scour the area in Agua Point some 11 nautical miles from Aroroy port in Masbate where the ferry was supposed to have docked.

Ecleo, rescue operations supervisor in the area, said the ship could have sunk in that place in depths reaching 518 meters. He said it would not be possible even for professional divers to reach that deep.

“Despite this, we hope that something positive will come out in the search and rescue efforts,” he said.

Ecleo said they have tapped four technical divers from the Navy and Coast Guard, as well as the volunteers who retrieved the body of the late Interior secretary Jesse Robredo last year.

Alejandro added that local government units, fishermen and volunteers have joined in the search and rescue for the seven missing passengers.

“We will continue the search for as long as we see possibility that the seven are still alive and could just be floating somewhere in the areas where the ship sank,” Alejandro said.

He said three Navy divers tried to locate the sunken ferry to search for the missing passengers who could have been trapped inside the ferry.

One of the survivors, the ship’s captain Mateo Gregorio, said the roll on, roll off (RORO) vessel tilted and sank after one of the passenger buses on the ferry came loose from its chain and nylon mooring.

Gregorio, however, denied allegations that the ship developed engine trouble, saying it had just passed maintenance checkup.

Alejandro agreed the ferry was not overloaded as it made its regular journey of about four hours between Albay and Masbate.

The vessel left Pio Duran Port in Albay at around 2 a.m. Saturday and headed for Aroroy port.

Initial reports said the Carmel sank three kilometers off the Ponta Agua lighthouse at about 5 a.m.

The Navy has deployed a PN 131 aircraft to conduct aerial survey over the waters near Aroroy port on the possible areas where the missing passengers could have been carried by the sea current.

“Our search and rescue teams are also closely monitoring the seawater in the area for oil spill,” Alejandro said.

“We are also asking the help of the local government units to report any body which could be washed up in their coastal areas,” he added.

Alejandro said close monitoring of any possible oil spill is necessary to protect the Manta Ray sanctuary in Ticao Pass.

The PCG in Masbate is now gathering details from the survivors as well as identifying possible witnesses.

A special board of marine inquiry has started the investigation on the operator of the vessel, Medallion Transport, for alleged incomplete passenger manifest, among other possible violations.

Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Maximo Mejia said the regional office in Cebu noted at least two of the passengers were not listed in the manifest.

Mejia said Marina would have to revoke the franchise of Medallion Transport if the findings proved there was negligence on their part.

Marina ordered the suspension of the Seafarer Identification and Record Books of all 22 crewmembers of Carmel pending results of the investigation into the tragedy.

Marina also ordered a special inspection of the remaining ships of Medallion Transport to ensure their seaworthiness, particularly now with the onset of the rainy season.

As this developed, a foreign cargo vessel reportedly ran aground off Sambauan Island in Biliran, destroying at least 270 square meters of corals in the marine sanctuary island.

The PCG said the crew of Unicorn Lodger of Wisdom Lines has been detained for questioning by the Navy after their vessel ran aground off Sambauan Island on Thursday.

Regional Coast Guard commander LtJg. Paul Gonzales said the Unicorn, piloted by Capt. Nguyen Anh Tuan, and his 17 Vietnamese crewmembers were heading to Japan from Malaysia to deliver some 1,607 pieces of logs.

The vessel ran aground while it passed near Sambauan, officials said.

Gonzales said the Vietnamese crew is being investigated on why they passed through Sambauan Island.

While no oil spill was noticed, the vessel damaged at least 270 square meters of coral reef in the Sambauan marine sanctuary. – With Celso Amo, Cet Dematera, Evelyn Macairan, Jaime Laude, Fred Padernos