A Filipino fisherman who survived after their boat was rammed by a suspected commercial vessel near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) last Oct. 2 revealed the chronology of the incident, from the moment they experienced a "tribunada" to how he saw a gigantic tanker hit them and made their boat capsized.
Johnny Manlolo, one of the 11 surviving crew members of Filipino fishing boat (FFB) "Dearyn", attended a press briefing with his comrades at the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) headquarters in Manila on Thursday night, Oct. 5, to shed light on the incident that also killed three other fishermen namely Dexter Laudencia, boat captain, 47; and members Romeo Mejeco, 38, and Benedict Olandria, 62.
According to Manlolo, the 14-strong FFB Dearyn departed from Subic, Zambales on Sept. 26 and installed a "payaw" or fish aggregating device when they arrived at their intended fishing location - approximately 85 nautical miles northwest off Bajo de Masinloc or 180 nautical miles from Agno, Pangasinan.
After days of fishing, Manlolong said the fishermen encountered a weather phenomenon locally known as tribunada, or intense rain which caused restricted visibility, around 4 a.m. on Oct. 2.
At the time, eight crew members were out and fishing in different locations near Bajo de Masinloc and only six members were onboard FFB Dearyn - Manlolo, Laudencia, Mejeco, Olandria, and two others.
"Mga alas kwatro po ng umaga, biglang dumating ang tribunada. Pagtayo ko, nandyan na 'yung barko na bumangga sa amin. Kitang-kita ko po talaga 'yung saktong tumama po siya sa amin tapos bigla na lang kaming tumaob (Around 4 a.m., tribunada came. I rose to where I was resting and I saw the vessel that bumped us. I really saw the exact moment when it hit us and then we suddenly capsized)," Manlolo said.
The vessel bumped FFB Dearyn on its starboard or right side, causing it to turn turtle, he said.
"Nalaglag na po kami lahat sa tubig, hindi na po namin alam kung anong nangyari. Kanya-kanya na po kaming languyan. Pagkatapos po, nakasampa po ako sa bangka namin na nakataob (We all fell down into the water, we don't know what was happening. We were frantically swimming for safety. After that, I managed to climb our capsized boat)," he continued.
Manlolo said he knocked on the boat to check if there were others trapped beneath him, and one of his comrades asked for help.
He said he couldn't help the other survivor so he instructed him to find an exit.
Afterwards, Manlolo saw the body of Olandria floating so he asked for help from two other fishermen, who luckily cheated death and escaped from the capsized boat, to retrieve it.
"Wala na po kaming magawa sa matanda, tinali na lang namin siya para hindi lumayo ang bangkay. 'Yung dalawang kasama namin - ang kapitan at 'yung pamangkin niya - hindi na po nakalabas sa ilalim. Hindi na po namin magawang sisirin dahil mahina na po kami (We couldn't do anything for the old man so we just tied his body so it wouldn't be carried away by the waves. Two of our comrades, the captain and his nephew, failed to get out. We could not dive to help them because we were too weak)," he said.
Meanwhile, the remains of Laudencia and Mejeco were recovered around 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 2 when the other fishermen returned to their motherboat and discovered what happened.
'It was an accident'
PCG Commandant, Adm. Artemio Abu said an investigation was ongoing to determine if it really was Pacific Anna, a crude oil tanker vessel registered under the flag of Marshall Islands, that rammed FFB Dearyn.
He presented a footage from their marine traffic monitoring system where it showed Pacific Anna passing by closely to FFB Dearyn at the time and date of the ramming incident. No other vessel was nearby when the deadly ramming took place, he said.
"The President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr.] enjoins everyone not to issue speculative statements. Dapat ang sasabihin natin ay factual para makatulong sa atin na maresolba 'yung sitwasyon (We should issue factual statements only that will help us resolve the situation)," Abu said.
"Yes accident po 'yan, wala naman nagkagusto na magka-ano (Yes it was an accident, nobody would have wanted that to happen)," he added.
Manlolo also confirmed this: "Sobrang laki po siguro ng barko baka hindi po nila naramdaman, maliit lang po 'yung amin. Opo, aksidente po talaga (Maybe their vessel was really big so they did not feel [the bump], ours was only a small boat. Yes, it really was an accident)."
Pacific Anna, a 25-meter long tanker, came from Incheon, South Korea and arrived in Singapore on Oct. 5.
Abu said the PCG will inform the Singaporean government about the ramming incident so they could help in the ongoing investigation.
Towing
Rear Adm. Armando Balilo, PCG spokesperson, said the family of the deceased boat captain requested to retrieve the boat so it could be fixed and as part of the Coast Guard's investigation.
"[We] will be sending two multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) for towing operations," he stated.