DAVAO CITY – Almost a month since the recreational vessel MBCA Amejara went missing in the coast of Davao Oriental, the Philippine Coast Guard District in Southeastern Mindanao (CGDSEM) has yet to release its initial findings of the incident.

The CGDSEM also has not recorded any breakthrough two weeks since it shifted to search and retrieval operations for the remaining nine missing passengers of the ill-fated vessel.

CGDSEM spokesperson Lt. Junior Grade Melanie Benitez said that investigation findings are still pending at the higher headquarters.

Benitez assured that the CGDSEM will immediately provide updates once the investigation report is finalized.

The CGDSEM formed two teams to investigate the sinking of MBCA Amejara on Jan. 18.

CGDSEM commander Commodore Philipps Soria said personnel of the Coast Guard Santa Ana Substation did not grant clearance to the boat’s crew to sail at around 8 p.m. on Jan. 17, as their declared destination was already outside the vessel’s authorized franchise area.

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has confirmed that the vessel’s permit was for “for tourism only and during daytime only” and its authorized routes are between Davao City and the Island Garden City of Samal only.

Soria confirmed that MBCA Amejara’s authorized route is only between Davao City and Samal.

The CGDSEM chief said that these initial findings are being investigated.

The CGDSEM said that they have not yet received any from their field stations of any new recovery of debris since it shifted from search and rescue to search and retrieval operations last Feb. 3.

Benitez said that search and retrieval operations continue in designated sectors.

The CDGSEM said that search and retrieval operations for the missing passengers cover the parts of Celebes Sea, Sulu Sea, and even some section of the Indonesian maritime territory.

Soria that the multi-agency effort to find missing passengers has shifted to search and retrieval as the possibility of finding survivors was already close to none.

He did not provide any timeline on how long the search and retrieval operations will continue.

But he added that the search and retrieval operations will be terminated only if there will be no breakthroughs for several days.

Aside from PCG, the incident triggered a multi-agency effort that involved Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy, Philippine National Police Maritime Unit, local governments' disaster units, and other private groups.

Of the 16 people on board, only a crew member, Christopher Bulig, was rescued in the sea of Sarangani Island on Jan. 20. According to reports, the passengers were mostly composed of angler fishing enthusiasts and divers.

Six bodies were recovered about 75 nautical miles (138 kilometers) southwest of Sarangani Island four days later. Only four of the six bodies have been identified.

Office of Civil Defense-Davao region chief Ednar Dayanghirang identified the bodies as those of Porferio Lanorias Jr., Ranil Florino, John Julius Alcazar, and Hector Emberga.

The CGDSEM and partner agencies have also recovered life jackets and debris believed to be part of the missing recreational vessel.

Two unidentified bodies were temporarily buried while awaiting results of the deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA testing.