Boat with undocumented Filipinos capsizes off Palawan; 1 dead

LONE FATALITY Personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard Station South Western Palawan (PCGSSWP) retrieve the remains of a female passenger, placed in a body bag, from an unregistered boat that capsized in waters off Balabac in Palawan on Sunday. —PCGSSWP photo

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, PALAWAN, Philippines — An unregistered vessel suspected to be involved in human trafficking capsized on Sunday in the waters near Balabac town in Palawan, leaving one dead, one missing, and nine others rescued.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard Station South Western Palawan (PCGSSWP) on Monday, the ill-fated vessel, carrying 11 individuals, was reportedly bound for Malaysia when it encountered engine trouble at around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday. It had sailed from an unspecified location on Saturday evening.

As of Monday, authorities continued their search for one remaining missing passenger.

READ: BI seeks penalties for Filipinos exiting PH through ‘backdoor’

“One of the boat operators jumped overboard, telling the passengers that he would seek help and assistance,” said PCGSSWP acting station commander Ensign Mark Joseph Bajao, adding that the operator swam toward an unknown destination.

The boat eventually drifted in rough sea conditions and capsized between Canibungan and Matanguli islands, both under the jurisdiction of Balabac.

Rescue operations launched on Sunday afternoon initially saved six passengers and recovered the body of a female victim. Four individuals were declared missing, including the boat captain.

Human trafficking?

Two more survivors were later rescued by local fishermen. They were taken to an island near Matanguli. Upon arrival, however, rescuers also located the boat captain, but he reportedly went missing again shortly after.

“As of now, our survivors are nine, with one casualty and one missing,” Bajao told the Inquirer by phone on Monday morning.

Only one person was considered missing by the PCGSSWP since the boat captain was deemed a survivor even if he later disappeared.

“We have resumed our search and rescue using our aluminum boat and high-speed response boat,” said Bajao.

The survivors, who hailed from various parts of the country, including Cavite, Las Piñas City, Quezon City, Mandaue City, Olongapo City, and Talisay City in Cebu, were believed to have been en route to Malaysia without the necessary travel documents. Authorities suspect the case might involve human trafficking.

“The vessel is unregistered, so their trip is illegal, and [they] were trying to go through [the] backdoor,” Bajao said.

“The only information we got was that they disembarked at the Puerto Princesa Airport, where they were picked up by a shuttle van and traveled for around six to seven hours. Then they no longer knew where they were and just boarded a boat,” he added.

Balabac is only about 123 kilometers (66.46 nautical miles) from Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia. Mangsee Island, Balabac’s southernmost barangay, is 84.69 km (45.73 nautical miles) from Sabah.

Ongoing search and rescue efforts were challenged by adverse weather conditions brought by the southwest monsoon (habagat) and a low-pressure area affecting Luzon and parts of the Visayas.

Bajao has issued a travel advisory temporarily suspending the voyages of all motorboats with 15 gross tonnage and below.

“The weather is not good, which also affects our search and rescue operation,” he said.

The nine rescued passengers were expected to be transported to mainland Balabac on Monday. The remains of the deceased will be brought to a funeral home in Brooke’s Point town. /cb