PROBE | Investigators from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) on Monday, April 3, 2023, inspect what remains of MV Lady Mary Joy 3, which ran aground off Baluk-Baluk Island, Basilan, after it caught fire just before midnight on March 29. They are looking at faulty wiring as a possible cause of the blaze. (Photo from the Basilan Provincial Information Office)
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines — As MV Lady Mary Joy 3 was burning in the waters off Basilan province before midnight on March 29, Aivann Julpa, 14, managed to grab one life jacket and together with his 50-year-old mother, Nena, prepared to evacuate from the floating inferno.
But seeing that Nena had no lifesaving gear, Aivann gave his life jacket to her and told her to jump as he would follow. She has never seen him since then.
Aivann is among 23 passengers of MV Lady Mary Joy 3 who remain missing as of Tuesday, a day after authorities announced they had terminated the search and retrieval operations for passengers of the ill-fated ferry owned by Aleson Shipping Lines.
Nena and her sister Rosina Abubakar went to Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan to continue their quest to find Aivann. Although they are from Jolo town in Sulu province, Nena said she would not leave Basilan until they found Aivann.
“He saved his mother. He is a very kind young person and this is the reason why we are not stopping our search,” Abubakar said.
Like the Julpa family, Marklin Malda, the brother of Pfc. Marion Malda, would not accept the decision of the government to conclude the search and retrieval.
Malda said they were not informed or consulted. “If they asked the families of missing persons, definitely we will say no, the searching must be widened not just concentrated in the boat.”
Malda lamented not having heard a word from Aleson Shipping regarding the matter. “No one from that shipping line called us, we just got updates from social media,” Malda said.
No more bodies to recover
But the Bureau of Fire Protection in Basilan along with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) have officially wrapped up their search and retrieval operation on Baluk-Baluk Island on Monday as no more bodies were recovered inside the vessel as of Monday, according to Senior Supt. Kadil Acalul, the provincial fire chief.
Acalul assured their investigation would continue. He said their initial findings pointed to faulty electrical wiring as the cause of the fire, with initial damage estimated to have reached P100 million.
Acalul said all the recovered evidence would be brought to Manila for further laboratory examination and that the Manila Arson Team would take over the case.
The Basilan PDRRMO on Tuesday released the names of the 23 missing persons based on the list submitted by the Sulu PDRRMO and claims from survivors who traveled with these persons and that of their families who knew they traveled to Jolo aboard the vessel.
Based on the PDRRMO list, the following were still missing: Maida Benhar, Pfc. Marion Malda, Staff Sgt. Androw Cerbatos, Dorie Hamja, Aivann Julpa, Akam Bakkang, Farhan Bakkang, Carmila Bakkang, Sitti Mar Amid, Putlih Aisa Jamalul Cadayong, Alvilyn Hasiron, Sharifa Ainon Hadjisali, Sharuda Hadjisali, Aliza Saabdulla, Angelica Saratao, Carmelita Chico, Husna Saabdulla, Jack Bungso Jr., Marciana Ali Abduhadi, Tali Saggaan, Isnirabia Bensali, Arsi Hasan and Anacleto Ponollera Jr.Of those missing, four are minors: Julpa, 14; Saratao, 2; Aliza Saabdulla, 4; and Abduhadi, 3. The name Jack Bungso Jr. was earlier indicated as among the fatalities in an earlier list.
The Basilan PDDRMO reported 223 survivors, including the 35 boat crew members. A total of 28 persons died, 11 of whom drowned while 17 were burned to death.
“It’s time to pull out our engagement here but in case they still need our resources, we are always ready to help,” said Nixon Alonzo, the PDRRMO chief.
What about us?
Lawyer Kelvin Culajara, who survived the ferry fire, said the shipping company had to be made accountable for more than 200 passengers on board.
“I heard over the radio that they were giving P200,000 for the families of passengers who died in the fire and P3,000 for living survivors, but what about those who survived yet had serious injuries? Who will cover their hospitalization?” Culajara said.
The lawyer, who was traveling to Jolo for the first time for a court case, said he was excited about the trip and had booked a cabin, which he shared with two Army scout rangers.
Recalling his ordeal, he said the boat crew members failed to announce and inform the passengers that the vessel was on fire.
“They sounded the fire alarm twice, but I knew not all passengers were familiar with the alarm.
There was no speaker telling passengers where to find the exit; there were no crew members knocking on doors of the cabins; (and) there were no life jackets nor crew members instructing passengers how to use them. There were no lifeboats, and no fire extinguisher,” Culajara said.
If not for one of the scout rangers who heard the commotion and opened the cabin’s door, they would not have known that the fire was already just a few rooms away, he added.
Culajara said he was open to offering his legal services for free to the survivors and families who lost their loved ones in the fire, as a way of thanks for the “second life,” he said.
Even after he received medical attention at Camp Navarro General Hospital inside the Western Mindanao Command compound in Zamboanga City, Culajara said he never got a message from the shipping company.
John Carlo Chico, 23, son of the missing passenger Carmelita Chico, appealed to Aleson Shipping Lines and the search and rescue teams to locate his mother and youngest sister Angelica.
“Please help us find my mother and my sister, they were on the boat when it caught fire,” John Carlo said.
Carmelita’s younger sister Michelle, a person with disability, had survived the fire and initially received from the shipping company P30,000 as compensation and another P10,000 for medical treatment for the temporarily loss of her vision during the fire.
But Michelle said she, too, was not ready to give up the search for her sister and niece.