DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/16 February) – Still no breakthroughs in the effort to locate the remains of the nine missing passengers and crew members of M/Bca Amejara almost two weeks after the Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao (CGDSEM) shifted to search and retrieval operations.
“As of this time (Monday), we have no report yet regarding any breakthrough or recovered debris following the shift from rescue to retrieval operations,” Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie S. Benitez, CGDSEM spokesperson, said in a statement to the media on Monday.
She said that as of February 16, personnel from the Coast Guard are still conducting search and retrieval operations for the remains of the missing individuals and debris from the wreckage of the ill-fated recreational boat and will continue until such time operations are formally terminated.
Of the 12 passengers and four crew members, six bodies have been recovered, and one survivor has been found as of February 16 while nine people remain missing.
Benitez declined to provide updates on the investigation into the sinking of the recreational boat saying they are awaiting approval from the higher headquarters of the Philippine Coast Guard.
Results of the investigation, she promised, will be released as soon as they are available.
“At this time, we are unable to provide the raw information requested. We are required to obtain prior approval from our higher headquarters before releasing any such data. We respectfully ask for your understanding and patience,” she said.
Commodore Philipps Soria, commander of the CGDSEM, announced on February 3 that operations had already shifted to search and retrieval, after determining that the probability of finding survivors from the M/Bca Amejara is no longer feasible after weeks of continuous “search and rescue operations.”
On January 30, Soria said that the CGDSEM had created two teams to investigate the sinking of Amejara and to determine why the vessel had managed to leave port without clearance on January 17, and had sailed outside its franchise area.
The recreational boat embarked on a fishing venture on January 17 and sank around 4 a.m. the following day after encountering rough sea conditions while traversing Davao Gulf. It was reported missing on January 19.
According to Soria, the five-member Marine Casualty Investigation (MCI) team was tasked to look into the “factual, causal, and recommendatory safety improvements of our practices. So wala siyang liability or attribution yung first team natin. It is more on safety recommendation.”
The second team, Soria added, is a seven-member Incident Investigation Team formed on January 20, the second day of the search and rescue operation, to determine “administrative and criminal liability of the owner, the operator, and the officers and crew of the motor banca.”
According to the list released by the Coast Guard, the passengers included in the manifest and on board during the incident were Porferio Lanorias, Jr., John Julius Alcazar, Steven Ang Tan, Hector Emberga, Earlan Uyking, Anthony Banzali, Mark Levi Apayo Lao, Herwin Tan, and Ace Cortez. Additional passengers who were on board but not listed in the manifest were Reymark Napuli, Ranil Florino, and Rogelio Gomez.
Crew members were Patrocinio F. Genita III, the boat captain; Homer Bordado Bolasa; Christian Genita II; and Christopher Tecson Bulig, who was the lone survivor as of January 30. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
