Ship rescues 9 Pangasinan fishers

PHILIPPINE Coast Guard personnel attend to one of the rescued fishermen in the West Philippine Sea as they arrive in Sual, Pangasinan province. BUDANG NISPEROS / INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

SUAL, Pangasinan—Nine of 13 fishermen from Bolinao, Pangasinan province, who were earlier reported missing in the West Philippines Sea, made it back to shore on Wednesday after a Panamanian ship picked them up the day before as they drifted off Ilocos Norte province.

Lt. Senior Grade Alexander Corpuz, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard station here, identified the rescued fishermen as Ruel Subaan, 43; Meliton Pudot, 58; Marvin Cabasan, 32; Joel Ayuske, 42; Dominador Branzuela, 40; Federico Rosal, 22; Mark Anthony Garcia, 22; Renato Rance, 60; and Ariel Tobias, 26.

Missing were Freddie Pudot, 36; Paustino Ytac, 36; Rolly Camba, 33; and Peter John Minis, 22.

Corpuz said the fishermen left Barangay Arnedo in Bolinao on July 2 to fish in an area 185 kilometers from shore. But Subaan, the boat captain, said that when they were sailing back to shore three days after, huge waves broke one of the boat’s outriggers.

They met the accident as Tropical Storm “Egay” moved toward northern Luzon.

“We were only 57 km then from the shore. We tried to move slowly, but the waves were too strong that the other outrigger eventually broke,” Subaan said.

He said that when the boat sank, they had only the outriggers to hold on to as they drifted north under the incessant rain during the night.

The boat owner, Ramil Navarro, reported them missing to the PCG on July 7, hours before they were rescued.

The Panamanian bulk carrier, the MV Crimson Polaris, was passing through the navigational lane off Laoag City on its way to China from Australia at 4 p.m. on July 7 when its crew members saw the drifting fishermen.

Subaan said two of his companions might have drowned when they tried to swim toward the ship. The bodies of two others could not be found.

“They were so excited. The ship’s crew were telling us to hold on but they did not listen,” Subaan said.

“I never lost hope that we would be saved,” he said, adding that he had been through several sea accidents. “But if it’s your time, then you die,” he said.

The fishermen were weak and had bruises when they arrived here on Wednesday. One of them had to be carried on a stretcher.

In the Visayas, rain and floods brought on by Egay destroyed P13,335,722 worth of palay, corn, vegetables, bananas and fisheries in Negros Occidental province.

Provincial agriculturist Igmedio Tabianan said damage to palay, corn, vegetables and bananas was pegged at P12,485,722, covering 1,214.45 hectares and affecting 1,142 farmers in 17 towns and cities—Bago, Sipalay, Silay, Himaymaylan, Cadiz, Victorias, Valladolid, San Enrique, Murcia, Pontevedra, Ilog, Pulupandan, Hinobaan, EB Magalona, Cauayan, Salvador Benedicto and Toboso.

Six fishing boats and 34 fishing gear worth P850,000 were damaged in Sipalay, San Enrique and Valladolid, affecting 38 fisherfolk.

In northern Luzon, sections of three national roads in Benguet province and another one in neighboring La Union province were still close to traffic due to floods and landslides caused by the storm, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

In a travel advisory, the DPWH’s public information division (PID) identified the impassable thoroughfares: the Bongis and Gusaran sections of the Gurel-Bokod-Kabayan-Abatan Road; and the Km 262 section of the Shilan-Beckel Road, all in Benguet; and Km 262 section of the Bangar-Luna Road in La Union.

Citing a report of the agency’s Bureau of Maintenance, PID also said floodwaters on the Bangar-Luna had not yet subsided. But field personnel of the La Union First Engineering District were on standby for road clearing operations as soon as the floods subside.

The agency said the roads that have reopened to traffic were the Tagudin-Cervantes in Ilocos Sur province and the Baguio-Itogon (Barangay Ucab) and Acop-Kapangan-Kibungan-Bakun (Kibungan town), both in Benguet. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon; Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas; and Jerry E. Esplanada in Manila