28 fishermen rescued from sinking boat in El Nido waters

FILE: RESCUED OFF EL NIDO. Twenty-eight fishermen from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro were rescued by the Navy vessel BRP Nestor Reinoso (PC 380) 35 miles northeast of El Nido on August 2, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Wescom Public Affairs Office)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — A coastal patrol boat of the Philippine Navy (PN) on Thursday morning rescued about 28 fishermen from their sinking boat, some 35 miles northeast of El Nido municipality in northern Palawan.

Capt. Cherryl Tindog, chief of the Public Affairs Office (PAO) of the Western Command (Wescom), said Friday the fishermen aboard the Athan Uno were on their way to the West Philippines Sea (WPS) when it sank due to strong waves.

Upon receiving a distress call from the fishing boat at about 8 a.m., she said the Wescom, through the Joint Task Force Malampaya (JTFM), immediately dispatched BRP Nestor Reinoso (PC 380) skippered by Commander Roldydin Cris Sergio to search and rescue the fishermen.

“Papunta daw sila ng WPS para mangisda pero dahil malakas ang alon, di kinaya ng bangka nila at lumubog. Ang nag-distress call sa atin ay ‘yong kapitan din ng bangka (They were on their way to the WPS to catch fish, but due to strong waves, their boat wasn’t able to make it and began sinking. It was the boat captain who made the distress call),” Tindog told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview.

The coastal patrol boat located the fishermen about 2 miles southeast of the Alcon Production platform where they temporarily anchored.

“By the time the rescuers arrived, the boat was half-submerged and was being towed by another motor banca. However, both boats were being struck by strong waves,” she said.

The rescued fishermen, who were all residents of Barangay Caminawit, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, are now with the El Nido Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO).

“Nasa pangangalaga namin silang lahat at kasalukuyan na din kaming nagco-communicate sa the municipal government of San Jose para makauwi sila (They are all under our care and we are already communicating with the municipal government of San Jose so they can go home),” Town MDRRMO chief, Raymund Osorio, said.

Meanwhile, weatherman of the local office of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Sonny Pajarilla, said although there was no gale warning over Palawan, they had advised small fishing boats not to risk going to the open sea.

“May kalakasan ang alon at mahigit 2 meters ang taas. Yon nga lang wala tayong gale warning kaya walang pagbabawal. Ang meron na paulit-ulit naming ginawa ay advise sa mga maliliit na bangka na maging maingat at wag munang pumalaot (There were strong waves above 2 meters high.

But we had no gale warning, that’s why no boat was prohibited from sailing. What we continued to do was advise small boats to be careful and not to risk their lives going to the high seas),” Pajarilla said Friday.

He said the sea condition will remain rough until Sunday and reiterated that small boats in northern Palawan should only go to locations that are near the shores and not venture out to the high seas.

“Sa southern Palawan malakas din, hindi advisable sa maliliit na bangka pumalaot (In southern Palawan, sea waves will also be strong so it’s not advisable for small fishing boats to go far),” he said.