FILIPINO seafarers rescued by the Chinese Coast Guard from a cargo ship that capsized in the West Philippine Sea. (Handout of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Philippines)
ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo Provincial Public Employment Service Office (PESO) continues to monitor the status of three Ilonggo seafarers rescued from the sunken Singaporean-flagged cargo ship in the West Philippine Sea.
They are from the towns of Barotac Viejo, Estancia and Janiuay, Iloilo.
“They’re all safe and in still Manila,” said PESO-Iloilo Officer Cynthia Parcon Dario. “It’s up to them if they want to go home to their families,” Dario said in an interview on Saturday, Jan. 31.
Dario said they were positively identified as from Iloilo province after PESO-Iloilo coordinated with the PESO offices of the local government units (LGUs) of Barotac Viejo, Estancia, and Janiuay and their barangays.
Dario said that the shipping agency as well as the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) are directly dealing with the three seafarers. “What’s important is that they’re safe,” added Dario.
They were among the 15 Filipino seafarers rescued by the Chinese Coast Guard when their ship capsized in the South China Sea.
Dario assured that their “Operation: Bulig Ilonggo” help desk will extend assistance once needed.
She said the help desk was an initiative of the administration of Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr.