Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5) — Distressing would be an understatement in describing the ordeal of 11 Filipino fishermen, who had to watch over the bodies of three of their companions for 24 hours after a foreign vessel rammed their boat off Bajo de Masinloc.
\”Lumutang na po yung isa naming kasama na matanda, yun yung patay na. Wala na kaming nagawa, itinali na lang namin siya para hindi lumayo ang kaniyang bangkay,\” Johnny Manlolo recalled during a press briefing with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday.
[Translation: A body of our elder companion floated. We couldn’t do anything, we just tied him up so that his body wouldn’t drift away.]
It was around 3 a.m. when the 14 Filipino fishers moored their boat \”Dearyn\” to a payao, or an anchored fish float, some 85 nautical miles northwest of Bajo de Masinloc.
Eight crew members left on Dearyn’s service boats to fish in different locations, while 40-year-old Manlolo remained in the mother boat along with five others, including the captain.
At about 4 a.m., Manlolo remembered rain began to pour, prompting his fellows to go inside the cabin while he stayed at the back of the boat.
\”Mga 20 minutes na patak ng ulan, medyo humina. Pagtayo ko po, nanjan na yung barko. Kitang kita ko po talaga, saktong tumama sa amin,\” Manlolo said.
[Translation: It rained for about 20 minutes then it eased a bit. When I stood up, the ship was already there. I really saw it, right when it hit us.]
The ship was red and much bigger than Dearyn, according to Manlolo, He said it even left a trace of paint when it slammed into the fishing boat. But he did not recall if the ship flashed its light or sounded its horn.
What he is certain of is that Dearyn had its lights turned on and was visible from a distance.
The PCG said its cross-referencing of details provided by the fishermen indicated that \”Pacific Anna,\” a crude oil tanker registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands, may have been the vessel that hit the Filipinos’ boat.
\”Bigla na lang po tumaob at nalaglag na po kami sa tubig. Hindi ko na po maalala yung mga nangyari dahil kaniya-kaniya na kami ng languyan,\” Manlolo said.
[Translation: Our boat suddenly capsized and we fell into the water. I can’t remember what happened next because we started swimming on our own.]
Manlolo said he and another companion were able to get on their boat, now with its bottom up, while they searched for the others.
He began knocking on the boat, hoping to hear something back; 22-year-old Mandy An answered and was able to swim towards the surface and join them.
Then came the unexpected – the body of their elder companion floated. They waited for Dearyn’s captain and his nephew but to no avail.
\”Yung dalawa na kasama namin, yung captain at pamangkin niya, hindi na nakalabas sa ilalim, at ‘di na namin nagawang sisirin dahil mahina na kami,\” Manlolo said.
[Translation: Two others who were with us, the captain and his nephew, couldn’t get out of the bottom, and we couldn’t dive and search anymore because we were too weak.]
Tired, stuck, and helpless, Manlolo and the other two survivors waited, hoping for the return of Dearyn’s service boats with the remaining crew members.
The sun was already up when 37-year-old Michael An, onboard a service boat, spotted Dearyn from three nautical miles away.
At around 9 a.m., the service boats arrived and the other crew members dove to retrieve the remaining bodies inside Dearyn’s cabin.
An remembered loading the three bodies onto the smaller service boats. Several nautical miles away from the coast, they began their journey home.
\”Napagpasiyahan namin na magsama-sama kami,\” An said. \”24 hours ang tinakbo namin. Walang kain kain, walang tubig. Mainit. Naaawa kami sa mga karga naming nasawi.\”
[Translation: We decided to go together. We sailed for 24 hours. No food, no water. It was hot. We felt sorry for our companions who died.]
The 11 crew members who survived the incident left the area using eight boats and arrived in Infanta, Pangasinan at 10 a.m. the next day, Oct. 3.
They brought the dead bodies of their 47-year-old boat captain, 38-year-old crew, and the eldest among them, a 62-year-old fisherman.
Despite the harrowing experience, the fishermen said they had no choice but to get back to the waters to make a living.
Manlolo recalled the waters were calm when they were hit by the ship, but he believes what happened was an accident.
\”Sa sobrang laki po figuro ng barko, baka hindi na po nila naramdaman [nung tinamaan kami] dahil malaki po yung barko nila, maliit lang po yung amin,\” the fisherman said.
[Tranlation: The ship is so big, maybe they didn’t feel it anymore when they hit us, ours is small.]
The PCG has said the maritime incident is not connected to the tensions between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.
