3 fishermen rescued in Manila Bay

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard rescued three fishermen after their boat capsized in Manila Bay due to big waves caused by Tropical Storm Falcon (Maeri) but is still looking for nine fishermen from Catanduanes who have been missing since Thursday, a Coast Guard official said Saturday.

Lt. Cmdr. Algier Ricafrente, PCG spokesperson, said Coast Guard personnel rescued Jeff Franco, 27; Felcon Cabriras, 38; and Cesar Dono, 36, on Friday afternoon after their motor boat sank when it encountered big waves off Sangley Point in Cavite.

The three fishermen showed signs of hypothermia when they were rescued as they had been in the water for more than five hours, Ricafrente said.

“They are now okay and have been turned over to the owner of their fishing boat,” he added.

Ricafrente reminded fishermen to avoid going out to sea especially if a storm is coming.

He noted that the Coast Guard was still looking for nine fishermen from Virac, Catanduanes, who have been missing since Thursday.

A colleague of the nine missing fishermen, Prospero Tabios, was found alive in Northern Samar but there was still no reported sighting of the others, Ricafrente said.

“He’s just one of the 10, so we are continuing our search and rescue operations,” he added.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, there were also 192 passengers stranded in different ports from Aparri, Cagayan, to the Bicol Region.

Ricafrente sasid there were 35 passengers stranded in Batangas, 96 in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro, 31 in Pasacao, Camarines Sur, and 30 in Aparri Cagayan.

“There are no more storm warnings but we received reports that the waters off these areas or the destinations of these passengers were still rough and so the boats were not allowed to leave port,” Ricafrente said.

“We continue to monitor the situation and, if the weather clears, then these passengers would be allowed to sail,” he added.

In Manila, Ricafrente said, PCG Commandant Adm. Ramon Liwag deployed four rescue teams to flooded areas in the metropolis: Markina City and Barangay Tatalon and Parkway Village in Quezon City.

“We sent one rescue team to Marikina and Parkway Village and two in Barangay Tatalon. At around 9 a.m., we’d evacuated around 300 residents from Barangay Tatalon,” Ricafrente said.