In Catanduanes, kin cling to hope rescuers will find 9 fishers

HELP IS COMING Rescue workers prepare to scour the waters off Catanduanes province and nearby areas on Monday with the help of the Philippine Air Force to find the eight fishermen who remained missing at sea. VIRAC MAYOR SAMUEL LAYNES FACEBOOK

LEGAZPI CITY—For Jonel Zafe, 24, the thought of his father, Noel, still missing at sea had dampened the spirit of Christmas.

Noel, 41, was among the five fishers from the capital town of Virac in Catanduanes province who ventured out to sea last week but failed to return home on Christmas Eve.

“We had no time to celebrate. My wife and I have been roaming about in search of my father in case he was seen on the shore or in other villages,” Zafe told the Inquirer in a phone interview on Monday.

While looking for Noel, the couple had to leave their two children in the care of their neighbor, even on Christmas Day.

The other missing fishermen were identified as Arnel Araojo, 43; Domingo Borilla Jr., 33; Jason Mandasoc, 31; and Dante David (age unknown), all residents of the villages of Palnab del Norte and San Vicente in Virac.

Borilla’s live-in partner, Christine Joy Embile, 27, said she remained hopeful that he would safely return home to personally give his gift to their two kids.

“Before he left our house, he asked our two kids what they wanted for Christmas. We had no money when he left, so we had nothing to cook, all we have is pure sadness,” Embile said in a separate interview.

After attending a Mass on Christmas Day, Borilla’s kids went to the shore to wait for their father, Embile added.

But the waiting ended for the family of the Araojo after his body was recovered along the shoreline of Barangay Calanaga in Rapu-Rapu town in Albay province on Monday, said Gremil Alexis Naz, Office of Civil Defense Bicol spokesperson.In Catanduanes’ Viga town, Ringo Tupig, 37; Willy Uchi, 35; Jobert Teaño, 33; and Juanito Estrella Jr., 51; went fishing on Dec. 20 and could have encountered huge waves due to the bad weather. The four also failed to return home on Dec. 23.

Naz said the search, rescue and retrieval teams resumed their aerial survey on Monday after being briefly suspended due to strong currents caused by the shear line and the northeast monsoon.

—MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES