CALM AND QUIET It is a quiet Monday afternoon in Barangay Calapandayan in Subic, Zambales, the coastal village where the four missing fishermen and the other crew members of FB Reincris had prepared their boat before they ventured into the West Philippine Sea on Nov. 20. —JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT
SUBIC, ZAMBALES, Philippines — The families of four fishermen from this town who went missing near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) are pleading for authorities to intensify efforts in locating them.
“It’s been days, but we still have no updates on whether they’ve been found,” Angelica Guerrero, 28, partner of Anthony Tadeo, 40, told the Inquirer as she held back tears.
She added: “I hope there’s a quicker way to find them—drones, helicopters, anything. I just hope they drifted and are tied to the ‘payao’ (artificial reef) there.”
READ: 4 Subic fishers go missing near Scarborough Shoal
Tadeo, who has been working the waters near the shoal since his youth, regularly fished in Panatag despite the risks posed by Chinese coast guards patrolling the area since 2012, said Guerrero.
‘Traumatic’
Guerrero said she would no longer want him to return to the shoal: “It’s traumatic. Maybe even he, when he comes back, won’t want to go back either.”
Rogelyn Recalde Oriel, 25, was also “anxiously awaiting” the return of her father, Remolo Palogme, and her missing uncles—Richard and Raymond Recalde.
Palogme was one of the nine crew members who stayed behind their main fishing vessel while the Recalde brothers, Tadeo and Daniel Sabido, 41, left aboard their service boats to do hook and line fishing some 74 kilometers (40 nautical miles) north of Panatag on Nov. 27. The four were missing since.
“Our family is especially worried about Uncle Raymond because his wife just gave birth last month, and his other children are still young,” Oriel added.
Palogme and the eight other crew members were still at the WPS on Monday, searching for their missing companions.
Guerrero and Oriel said the Philippine Coast Guard in Zambales has assured them that its personnel were patrolling the area and assisting in the search for their relatives. —Joanna Rose Aglibot