LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — Only 19 fishermen from Pangasinan remained missing in the West Philippine Sea after a series of rescue operations on Monday by government personnel and volunteers, a provincial government official said.
Orpheus Velasco, provincial information officer, said 17 fishermen were rescued on Monday night in different parts of the West Philippine Sea, while the rest made it safely to their villages.
The fishermen met rough seas when Tropical Storm “Kabayan” (international name: Mujigae) exited from Luzon on Oct. 2. On Tuesday, the death toll rose to four after the body of a man who drowned in Bulacan province was found over the weekend.
As of Tuesday noon, rescuers were still searching for three fishing boats and two smaller boats. These are the FB Judith Anne 2 from Infanta town, with six crew members; the FB Flores from Dasol town, with a crew member missing; the FB Double J from Bolinao town, with seven missing; and two small boats from Agno town, with five fishermen missing.
On Monday night, Velasco said all eight fishermen aboard the FB Azekuel Ryan, which was reported missing on Sunday, and nine of 10 fishermen aboard the FB Flores had been rescued.
Dasol Mayor Noel Nacar, quoting Flores captain Cepertino Casmiano, said that the boat capsized, but the fishermen tied themselves to the wreckage as they waited for rescuers. One of the fishermen could have suffered from heart attack as his mouth was frothing.
“When the fisherman fell into the water, [Casmiano said they] could not help him or [they] would also fall off the capsized boat,” Nacar said.
In a text message, Lt. Senior Grade Alexander Corpuz, Philippine Coast Guard commander, said their records showed only 13 fishermen still missing as of 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
He said 101 fishermen had been rescued so far, including five of six fishermen from Masinloc town in Zambales province, and two from Agoo town in La Union province. Fourteen fishermen, he said, had safely returned to their villages.
Corpuz also confirmed the death of Felix Marquezo, one of the Masinloc fishermen.
“We will continue the search and rescue operations as long as there are missing fishermen out there,” Corpuz said by telephone.
A report from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Central Luzon showed that Gilbert Lopez, 35, drowned on Friday in San Jose del Monte City.
Earlier, three people were reported dead from the storm. They included a missing fisherman who was later found dead in Pangasinan province, a man who drowned in Aurora province, and a woman who died of a snake bite in Nueva Ecija province.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has not yet released an update of reports from the regions about the effects of Kabayan.
In the Ilocos region, damage to infrastructure, particularly roads and bridges, reached P16.6 million while damage to agriculture had been placed so far at P4 million.
In Central Luzon, damage to agriculture, particularly rice crops, livestock and high-value crops, reached a whopping P841 million. Gabriel Cardinoza and Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon; and Julie M. Aurelio in Manila