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A mother of four young children wanted to visit the Basilica del Sto. Niño in Cebu City to thank the Holy Child Jesus for giving her ailing mother another lease on life.
But Janet Ordineza was not able to make the trip.
The motorbanca she was riding capsized in the Hilutungan Channel, off Cordova town, Cebu, about 3 p.m. on Tuesday because of strong waves and wind spawned by tropical storm “Feria.”
Ordineza and nine other passengers, as well as a crew member, were rescued 15 hours later by Ely Tora of barangay Alegria, Cordova, a fisherman on board an outrigger, who heard them shouting for help and saw them clinging to the capsized banca about 6 a.m. yesterday.
Because the outrigger could only accommodate two to three passengers, the fisherman decided to bring them to shore in batches, according to PO1 Ebenezer Cadelinia of Cordova police station.
The paramedics of the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF) arrived at the shore.
Ten passengers were among those stranded at the port in Tubigon town, Bohol after the Coast Guard barred vessels from sailing after storm signal number 2 was hoisted over Cebu and Bohol.
But Maria Roselyn Simbahon, 39, Loon, Bohol insisted on renting the MB Junjun 2 to ferry them to Cebu from Tubigon town, Bohol on Tuesday afternoon because she had to catch a flight to Manila from the Mactan Cebu International Airport in the evening and take a connecting flight to Qatar where her husband was waiting for her.
She said she and her husband, who works in Qatar, was supposed to go on tour. But she said that the waters were not rough and the wind was not so strong in Tubigon at that time.
Other passengers joined in convincing MB Junjun 2 operator Cornelio Albura Jr., who later agreed for a fee of P350 per passenger.
Ordineza said she went with the group because she wanted to drop by the Basilica del Sto. Niño in downtown Cebu City and light a candle to thank the Holy Child Jesus for her mother’s miraculous recovery.
She could not also stay longer in Bohol because she had to be in Cagayan de Oro by Wednesday for her son’s seventh birthday.
Ordineza went home to Bohol to be with her 79-year-old mother who was in critical condition. But her mother was able to recover and was released from the hospital yesterday morning.
Since the banca was scheduled to dock in Cordova at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, she said she still had time to travel to downtown Cebu City, light a candle at the basilica and then take the boat to Cagayan de Oro. She would be home on Wednesday in time for her son’s seventh birthday.
The boat left Tubigon at 1 p.m. Tuesday when it encountered strong winds and big waves, causing it to capsize in the Hilutungan Channel around 3 p.m.
Odineza recalled that the wind was strong and the waters were rough while they were sailing to Cebu. Then waves almost as big as a house hit the motor banca, causing it to capsize.
The passengers and the crew members held on to the banca to stay afloat. They also had to rely on each other to survive. If any of them were swept away by the waves, the other passengers would then swim after them and bring them back to the banca.
Jade Bacon, 25 of Carcar City in Cebu, said he and the other passengers prayed the rosary.
He said he kept on biting on his scapular while thinking about his two young children.
Julieta Garay, 50 of Calape town, Bohol, said fellow passengers had to tie her to the banca so she would not be swept by the waves.
“Nagsige na gyud ko og ampo, ‘Ginoo, Ginoo ang akong mga anak.’ Nangayo na gyud ko’g pasaylo Niya nga di’ na ko magpakasala pag-usab ko maluwas ko (I kept on praying, ‘God, please take care my children.’ I sought forgiveness and promised not to sin again if rescued),” Garay said.
Since she was already tired and hungry, Garay said she fell asleep while holding on to the motorboat.
About 2:30 a.m. yesterday, Samuel Rostata, 48, and skipper of MB Junjun 2, asked the three other crew members to swim to the nearest shore and seek help.
Albura used a small piece of plywood while Mark Cabenes, 22, and Avelino Ojina, 35 shared a container.
Susan Baguio, 43, a caretaker of a public beach resort who owned a house near the beach, was awakened by the shout for help.
“Nanawag sila’g tabang, miingon sila nga pakan-a intawn mi nang, gigutom na daw kaayo sila (They asked for help. They asked that we let them eat because they were very hungry),” she said.
Baguio informed the security guard of a beach resort who contacted Gregoria Justiniane, Suba-Basbas barangay captain in Lapu-Lapu City.
The 11 others, who were left clinging to the capsized banca, had by then drifted off to the nearby barangay Alegria, Cordova town, Cebu, where a fisherman rescued them.
Passengers Mary Ann Gealon, 37, of Maribojoc town, and Garay, were brought to the Lapu-Lapu district hospital because they were in a weakened state.
The hospital recommended that Gealon, who was injured in her left arm, be transferred to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City, where she was reported to be in a stable condition.
“Dako kaayo mi’g pasalamat sa maong mananagat kay siya gyud intawn ang unang nakatabang namu digto sa lawod (We would like to thank the fisherman for rescuing us),” Gealon
The other survivors, who also bore minor wounds on their hands from clinging for over 12 hours to the rope of the capsized boat, were treated at the barangay health center in Alegria.
They were passengers Simbahon, Violeta Toston, 54, of Getafe Bohol; Brian Gallon, 25, of Loay, Bohol; Elizabeth Abrio, 39, of barangay Basak-San Nicolas, Cebu City; Felix Infanzo, 29, of Inabanga, Bohol; and Samson Bolido, 49, of Iloilo.
The Maritime Industry Authority in Central Visayas (Marina-7) said the owner of the motorbanca may face sanctions for defying the order not to sail because of the typhoon.
Glenn Cabañez, Marina-7 director, said an investigation would be conducted to determine if the motorboat was registered and why the boat ferried passengers when it was supposed to be a fishing boat.
“These are the two possible violations and they will be penalized for that,” Cabañez said.
Avelino Ojena, 35, and MB Junjun 2 assistant operator, said they were aware of the ban not to sail to Cebu because of the typhoon.
But he added they were willing to face any investigation.
Alburo, the fishing boat operator, admitted that his motorbanca was not supposed to ferry passengers.
He said he was sleeping in their house on Tuesday when somebody awaken him and asked him to use his pumpboat to ferry passengers who wanted to sail to Cebu despite the bad weather.
He said that a female passenger was scheduled to go to Qatar who insisted on sailing.
Alburo said that when they reached near Cuaming Island, he wanted to stop because of the big waves and winds. But Simbajon insisted that they continue sailing.
Then the accident happened. /with a report from Correspondent Chris Ligan
