VANESSA GARON, 28, AND HER sister Alexandra or Alex, 23, are the only women divers helping the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) retrieve bodies from the wreck of the ill-fated ferry MV Princess of the Stars.

They are two of three PCG auxiliary divers who joined the rescue operations after the passenger ferry sank near Sibuyan Island on June 21.

The sisters, daughters of counselors Bob and Emmy Garon, spoke with the Inquirer Saturday during their medical checkup at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City.

Authorities stopped retrieval operations on Friday when it was learned that the ship carried a cargo of the toxic pesticide endosulfan. Concerned about the health of the divers, officials ordered them to undergo medical tests.

The divers, 42 from the PCG, three from the PCG’s auxiliary corps, 15 from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group Special Action Unit, two from the Philippine Air Force (PAF), and six from the Philippine Navy Special Operations Group, underwent a battery of tests yesterday at the V. Luna Medical Center and the EAMC.

The sisters expressed their admiration for the Coast Guard divers.

“These guys work round the clock and under the worst conditions,” she said.
Vanessa and Alex first dove into the wreck last Thursday and had logged in some 80 minutes underwater. They reached a depth of 120 feet.

“From the top, you can smell death. Underwater, you can actually feel death,” Vanessa said.

What they saw in the wreck was something they would never forget.

“There were palm prints on the windows. It was like, people were trying to get out. When I saw that, I felt their panic. I asked myself how I would feel if I were in their position in those last few minutes. It was very spooky,” Vanessa said.

“It felt really eerie down there. There were bodies all around and it was hard getting them out. It’s not as simple as plucking them out of the wreck,” Alex said.

Vanessa, who also participated in the retrieval operations on the SuperFerry sinking four years ago, said the operations on the MV Princess of the Stars were more difficult.

On Feb. 27, 2004, a bomb exploded inside the SuperFerry 14 as it was sailing off Manila Bay, killing over 100 people. The Abu Sayyaf Group later claimed responsibility for the bombing.

“This one is scarier. There was a lot of debris and that’s dangerous. Visibility was poor and that only increases the danger,” she said.

The bodies, which were bloated, had to be weighed down to make it easier to get them out of passageways and up to the surface.

“We saw two or three divers, really big men, struggle with getting a single body out,” Alex said.

The sisters have been diving for seven years. After Vanessa’s experience with the SuperFerry incident, she and her sister decided to join the Coast Guard as auxiliary officers. Vanessa holds the rank of lieutenant commander while Alex is an ensign.

Vanessa works as a teacher in a school established by her parents. Alex, on the other hand, works as an in-house psychiatrist for a rehabilitation center also established by the Garons.

“At least, we have day jobs. These guys do it for a living,” Vanessa said.

When they found out that pesticide was part of the ship’s cargo, the sisters became even more scared.

“Why didn’t they report it sooner? The Coast Guard is risking the lives of their men,” Vanessa said.

But in the end, the sisters said they would rely on their faith in God to see them through this.

“I was praying more for the people [in the wreck]. We have to pray for them and give them the respect they deserve,” Alex said.

Coast Guard diver Lt. Commander Inocencio Rosario was one of two divers who first dove into the wreck.

Prior to the accident, he was given command of the Coast Guards’ BRP Pampanga Search and Rescue vessel.

As reports of the sinking of the MV Princess of Stars reached the Coast Guard, Rosario had to make the difficult decision of going out to look for the passenger ferry while Typhoon “Frank” lashed out, putting his life and the life of his men in the path of the storm.

“My first impulse was to race to the scene because there might be passengers still alive. We braved the rough seas and risked our own lives,” Rosario told the Inquirer in Filipino.

Driven by the desire to rescue passengers, Rosario and another diver descended into the cold, choppy waters.

But nothing, not even his previous training as an elite Philippine Navy Special Warfare Group (SWAG) and his previous experiences as a rescue and retrieval diver which includes the SuperFerry incident, could have prepared him for what he saw in the wreck of the MV Princess of the Stars.

“I really pitied the dead passengers... there were a lot of them,” Rosario said, his voice choking.

When he spoke again, tears welled up in his eyes. “It was shocking. But we had to get over the shock because we had a job to do.”

Bodies were bloated beyond recognition, Rosario said. Flesh were peeling away and decomposing. They were careful not to tug the bodies too much lest the limbs detach. Often, limbs tearing apart could not be avoided.

“Skin would also attach itself to our gloves,” he said.

By his account, Rosario said he pushed himself and his co-divers to the limit in the hope of finding survivors. “We took our chances with the storm. We took our chances every single time we went down. We would surface just as our air ran out. That’s how much we pushed it.”

Meanwhile, divers have not shown any symptoms of poisoning from toxic substances, according to doctors who examined them yesterday.

Dr. Emmanuel Bueno, spokesperson for the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC), said doctors “did not see any serious injuries related to exposure to toxic substances.”

Bueno said they gave the divers a complete physical exam, a neurological exam and a psychological debriefing.

Blood was extracted from the divers to check liver and kidney functions, as well as the condition of the thyroid glands, Bueno explained.

On the neurological side, the divers were tested on their hand-eye coordination. “All brain functions are normal,” he said.

The divers also went through an electrocardiogram (ECG) test and Bueno said none of the divers exhibited any signs of contamination by toxic substances.

He explained, however, that the assessment might change once they receive all the results of the exams next week.

“We can’t tell if some symptoms might develop later on,” Bueno said.