MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 10:30PM) Eight people, including two children, died after the boat they were riding sank in Laguna de Bay near Binangonan, Rizal on Sunday, Oct. 29.
Thirteen people, who were former high school classmates and their families, were on the vessel and were supposed to go to to an area near a private fish pen to celebrate the birthday of one of the passengers when the fiberglass boat capsized.
According to Noli Celestra of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) of Binangonan, the passengers were busy taking group selfies and didn’t notice that most of them were already on one side of the boat, causing it to lose its balance before quickly sinking in the lake.
This version was strongly disputed by a survivor, Grace Parreño, whose husband and two-year-old child perished.
The following died in the incident, according to authorities:
-Neymariet Mendoza
-Malou Candol
-Marylou Papa
-Frederick Orteza
-Weldie Orteza
-Sean Wilfredo Orteza, the nine-year-old son of Frederick and Weldie
-Rolino Parreño
-Jaiannah Jensine Parreño, the two-year-old daughter of Rolino
The survivors were identified as:
-Grace Parreño
-Josh Parreño
-Maxine Horteza
-Merlita Hominez
-Gerson Decreto, the boat captain
Binangonan Police Chief Inspector Dwight Fonte said his office wanted to find out if there was negligence on the part of the boat master and if the vessel was registered and could be used to ferry passengers.
He said authorities had received reports that the boat was supposed to be used only for transporting animal feeds.
“Pag-aaralan ‘yong kaso kung may negligence on the part ng boat master kung mapapanagot natin, kung ‘yong bangka rehistrado ive-verify natin ‘yon, kung pampasahero ‘yong bangka…Supposedly hindi dapat talaga pampasahero ‘yong bangka, ginagamit lang ‘yon pampakain ng feeds,” Fonte said.
‘Selfie’ taking did not cause capsizing – survivor
One of those who survived the accident, meanwhile disputed the “selfie” taking as the reason for the boat to capsize.
According to Grace Parreño, who survived with her 10-year-old son but lost her husband and two-year old daughter,
“Nag-picture po kami pero paalis pa lang kami sa port; noong andon po, ‘di kami nag-selfie.
Inaano pa nila na kasalanan namin kasi nagselfie-selfie kami, ‘di naman totoo yan.”
[Yes, we took pictures but that was when we were still at the port. When we were already sailing, we didn’t take selfies. They pin the blame on us and say the boat capsized because we were bust taking selfies, but that’s not true.]
The banca capsized at half past one, and after 15 minutes, the Binangonan municipal disaster risk reduction management office received a call that some people had drowned.
She said it was even her husband who told them not to panic when they fell into the water, but at that point, Grace said she had lost hope of surviving, because she didn’t know how to swim.
“I struggled then, but I felt I couldn’t make it and wanted to give up, so I just prayed, “Lord,it’s all up to you. And then, someone was already reviving me.”
Grace has no idea why the boat capsized, but said she did not know that it was one that’s used only for fishing, not ferrying people.
Rescuers from the Binangonan MDRRMO and the Philippine Coast Guard rushed to the scene of the accident and conducted CPR on passengers pulled out of the water. Of 13 passengers, eight died.
According to Grace, there were apparent lapses by their rescuers
“Nung dumating sila, di sila sumisid, di sila naghanap; hinihintay lang nila na lumutang [when they arrived on the scene, they did not dive underwater; they just waited for people to float].”
The MDRRMO, however, said the rescue operation was tough, and took over four hours. Besides, they were only told one person – not 13 – was involved in a drowning incident.
“Masyado marami; ang akala namin tawag dito isa lang nakita, ‘yun pala marami sila. Trese sila nakasakay, kasama ang bangkero” said Jun Hernandez of the MDRRMO
He said diving was not that easy because the water was heavily silted and murky; and,”it’s possible to be pierced by bamboo when one dives; risk of injury to responders was high,” he added.
Relatives of the victims and survivors have no plans of suing the banca operator, who remains under investigation.
Grace’s family, meanwhile, is seeking help in bringing the bodies of her husband and child to Capiz, where they hail from.
