Ilonggo survivors in Superferry 9 tragedy recount stories of survival
Mixed emotions greeted the arrival of the second batch of Ilonggo survivors in the Superferry 9 tragedy in Fort San Pedro early morning yesterday.
The second batch, composed of 121 survivors, were on board SuperFerry 1 which arrived around 6:30 a.m.
The first batch of 44 survivors arrived Monday morning together with the body of one casualty identified as Emilia Golveo, a resident of Barangay Cagamutan Norte, Leganes, Iloilo.
The group on board SuperFerry 5 disembarked at the Bacolod Port and took a fast craft to Iloilo.
Another seven survivors also opted to take the Cebu Pacific flight in the afternoon.
Aboitiz area manager for Western Visayas Joel Ybañes assured that their company is doing its best to extend the necessary assistance to survivors.
Ybañes said aside from their lost baggage compensation of P6,000 they also extended another P5,000, aside from the medical and transportation allowance to immediate family members who are still trying to locate their relatives.
“We are sending them to Zamboanga if they need to go there,” he said. “Based on the official pronouncement of our corporate office all passengers are already accounted for.”
Meanwhile, relatives of the survivors heaved a sigh of relief after seeing their loved ones safe.
As early as 5 a.m. Tuesday, the Fort San Pedro terminal was already swarming with people all eager to see the survivors.
Senior Insp. Federico Silvestre, chief of the Arevalo Police Station, said he was very thankful that his 24-year-old daughter Fredalyn was able to survive.
“Around 2:57 in the morning of Saturday, she called me up and informed me that the ship was tilting. I told her not to panic,” he relayed.
On the other hand, Marites Almeo was worried because as of press time there was no information on her one-year-old niece who was passed by her mother Marlin Gazo to a man beside her as she also had to secure her other two-year-old daughter.
Gazo was with her aunt Nilda Hembra who was supposed to go on a vacation in Iloilo.
Hembra was part of the first batch of survivors who arrived on Monday while Gazo was still in a hotel in Zamboanga.
It was also a reunion for siblings Abelardo Petaro and Abelina Hornales who haven’t seen each other for five years.
Petaro fetched her sister Abelina, 67 years old who traveled alone from South Cotabato to take a vacation in Cuartero, Capiz.
Rodolfo Reingen of Estancia, Iloilo relayed that he first attempted to retrieve his pair of shoes which he took off before sleeping but to no avail.
He said he witnessed how their luggage and other belongings went into disarray as they prepared to abandon the ship.
Proto Solorin, 68 and a widow was with his nephews Loyd and Joseph Sucaldito during the incident.
Loyd fetched his younger brother Joseph and Solorin went with them supposedly to take a vacation in Jelicuon Este, New Lucena, Iloilo.
“It was just a trial,” he said as he proudly showed off the life jacket that he used when they abandoned the vessel, which he decided to bring home as a souvenir.
On the other hand, Benjamin Fabientes and his wife Gina together with sibling John Rey arrived safely in Iloilo and in time for the burial of their mother Nemia at Barangay San Nicholas, Lapaz.
Also present to extend assistance to the victims were members of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) and the Smart Telecommunications which provided free calls for survivors and their families. (PNA)