Kin of fishers killed in WPS boat ramming await promised aid
LAST RESPECTS | Relatives, neighbors, and friends from the village of Calapandayan, Subic, Zambales, attend on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, the burial of the three fishermen who died when international oil tanker Pacific Anna rammed into their boat in the waters off Pangasinan province in the West Philippine Sea on Oct. 2. (Photo by ANSBERT B. JOAQUIN)
SUBIC, Zambales, Philippines — Relatives and friends of the three fishermen who died in a boat ramming incident in the waters off Pangasinan province in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) appealed to the government to make true its promised assistance as they brought the remains of their kin to their final resting place on Saturday.
The mourners walked the whole 4-kilometer stretch for more than an hour going to Prime Subic Gardens, where all three fishermen were buried.
A couple, who were common friends of the fishermen, initially shouldered all the funeral expenses but said the local government here had promised to reimburse the burial cost.
Fishermen Dexter Laudencia, 44; his nephew Romeo Mejico Jr., 38; and Benedicto Olandria, 63, all from Subic town, died in the ramming incident on Oct. 2 involving an international commercial oil tanker, Pacific Anna, in the waters some 386 km (240 miles) from their town near the Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), or Bajo de Masinloc.
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The victims, all from Subic’s fishing village of Calapandayan, were on board their stationary boat Dearyn when it was hit by Pacific Anna, which was sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands. The foreign vessel left without aiding the victims in the incident now dubbed as a “hit-and-run” case on high seas.
Appeal
Laudencia’s cousin, Ian Jasper Tabios, 40, read a statement after the funeral Mass expressing hope that government officials will make good on their promised assistance to the families of the victims.
On Wednesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised justice for the victims and vowed to extend assistance to the victims’ families.
A large number of the coastal town’s male adult population takes to fishing as their main source of livelihood, especially those lacking formal education.
Tabios, who operates the fishing vessel MV Crizia, also appealed to President Marcos to extend the registration period of fishing boats from one to five years, saying it would “be a big help for us fishermen, to allow us to attend to fishing, without having to apply for permit yearly.”
Fishermen working for Laudencia, who owned and skippered the destroyed fishing boat, described him as more than an employer, but a friend and a brother.
Two of the 11 survivors of the mishap — Mandy An and Reymay Bautista — attended the funeral even as they were recovering from injuries sustained during the incident.
In a statement, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said its initial investigation had pointed to Pacific Anna as the culprit, saying its movement “aligns with the details provided by the fishermen … after a thorough check on marine traffic.”
A marine traffic video provided by the PCG showed Pacific Anna traveling southwest in the waters near Panatag and passing through the stationary Dearyn.
Based on its available automatic identification system data, Pacific Anna left the port of Incheon in South Korea on Sept. 27 and was due to arrive in Singapore on Oct. 5.
A search by Inquirer Research of shipping websites, as well as the insurance underwriter Steamship Mutual, indicated that Pacific Anna is owned by Compass Shipping 38 Corp. Ltd., a company registered in Hong Kong. But the vessel is being managed and operated by the South Korea-based Sinokor Maritime Co. Ltd., based on publicly available information.
