Did A Man Fall Or Jump From A Boat Off Batangas? PCG Heightens Search And Rescue Efforts
The Philippine Coast Guard said based on initial investigation, the passenger jumped off the cargo-passenger boat MV Maligaya on Oct. 31 and did not fall accidentally.
Search and rescue operations continued on Wednesday, Nov. 1, for a man who was initially reported to have fallen from a cargo-passenger boat in the waters off Calatagan, Batangas on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it deployed two of its vessels to search for Ralph Bernard Gerona, 26, a resident of Iloilo City, who reportedly fell from MV Maligaya, which is owned by 2GO Shipping Corp.
At 9:40 a.m. on Wednesday, the PCG dispatched fast patrol boat BRP Boracay and an aluminum boat to augment the search for Gerona.
The 29.05-gross-ton MV Maligaya left the port of Manila and was on its way to Bacolod on Tuesday when the incident occurred. There were 126 crewmen and 425 passengers on the boat.
The PCG alerted the Vessel Traffic Management Service-Corregidor operator after being notified of the incident.
The PCG substation-Calatagan coordinated with PCG substation – Lubang, sea marshals on MV Maligaya and vessels transiting the area.
Search and rescue operations were terminated at 6 p.m. on Tuesday due to poor visibility.
PCG-Batangas Station commander Capt. Jerome Jeciel said search and rescue operations resumed early on Wednesday.
A case of suicide?
In an interview on “One Balita Pilipinas” on One PH on Wednesday, Jeciel said Gerona likely jumped off the vessel, citing initial investigation from the Coast Guard Station in Bacolod, and an eyewitness account from Gerona’s sibling, who was with him when the incident occurred.
The initial investigation also bared Gerona’s mental health struggles, according to Jeciel.
He said Gerona suffered from depression, and was confined for two months at the National Center for Mental Health until Oct. 19 this year.
“‘Yun ang initial (findings) namin ‘no? At nakita rin, na-review po sa CCTV noong second engineer ng barko, nakita na tumalon ‘yung pasahero (So those are our initial findings. And after reviewing the CCTV footage by the ship’s second engineer, it was seen that Gerona jumped off),” Jeciel said.
As of writing, the PCG has already widened search patterns up to eastern Lubang in Mindoro. As a day already lapsed, Jeciel explained the PCG needed to widen its scope in locating Gerona.
He expressed hope in finding Gerona alive. “Kasi alam naman natin na marami din naman nag-ta-transit na barko diyan o mga mangingisda…na hopefully ngayon o sa susunod na mga oras eh makita nating buhay ‘yung pasahero (Because we all know that a lot of ships and fishermen pass through that area…so hopefully now or in the succeeding hours, we can locate Gerona alive),” Jeciel said.
The MV Maligaya, meanwhile, is currently under investigation in Bacolod. Gerona’s family, who were with him on the vessel, are also cooperating with authorities conducting the investigation, Jeciel added.
