Filipino crewman: It was my second day on job

It was a “baptism of fire” he will never forget.

Ariel Pelderos arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on Saturday in a wheelchair due to a foot injury he suffered during the sinking of the Costa Concordia, a luxury cruise ship, off Italy on Jan. 14.

Pelderos worked as a steward and he helped the other crew members evacuate the passengers as the ship took on water and started to keel over on its side off the island of Giglio on the Tuscan coast.

He was among the latest batch of the 296 Filipino crew members to be repatriated by the government and the ship’s local manning agency, Magsaysay Maritime Corp.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, said that at least 10 Filipino crew members, who worked in the liner’s engine room, were still in Italy because of the ongoing investigation on the sinking.

Early tragedy

“We’ve already asked our Philippine embassy in Rome to monitor them as well as the process of the investigation,” said DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Executive Director Ricardo Endaya.

Endaya was among the government officials who welcomed the repatriated workers at the airport on Saturday.

Pelderos, 21, of Compostela Valley, said he was only on his second day at work when the incident happened.

“I never expected to experience such a tragedy this early. Imagine, it was my first contract and it was only my second day,” he told reporters.

Pelderos said he was distributing life jackets to passengers and guiding them to lifeboats when he fell to the lower deck as the ship tilted and settled on its side in shallow waters.

He broke his left ankle and suffered bruises on his back as a result of the fall. He said he almost drowned as water started to enter the area where he was.

“It was a good thing I had my life jacket on. Then someone, whom I only knew as Oliver, also a Filipino, saw me and helped me get to the upper deck where we waited for almost three hours to be rescued,” said Pelderos.

He said a Filipino couple were also injured in the incident and were still at a hospital in Italy.

Proud Filipino

“At the time, I wasn’t feeling the pain, but I felt so cold,” Pelderos said, adding that he never doubted he would survive. “I was thinking of my family and I knew I was not the only one there who wanted to survive. That kept me going.”

He said the incident also made him feel proud to be a Filipino.

“The Filipino crew were very calm the whole time. It makes me feel proud that we were able to do what we did, we were able to apply the life-saving skills we learned,” Pelderos said.

He said the experience would not stop him from returning to sea.

“I still want to work as a seaman. I know it’s the only way I can give my family a better life,” he said. Pelderos is the fourth of five siblings and the family’s breadwinner.

Most of the Concordia crew who arrived in Manila on Saturday came with only the clothes on their backs and items they said were given to them by residents of Giglio and the passengers they helped.

“The only thing I was able to save was my cell phone, but it’s not working now because it fell in the water,” Pelderos said.

Brave acts

Earlier, officials of the government and Magsaysay Maritime Corp. assured all 296 Filipino crew members they would be properly compensated and would be quickly redeployed to other ships.

The DFA commended the Filipino crew for their professionalism.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippine Embassy in Rome received feedback from other crew members as well as ship passengers about the Filipino crew’s “brave acts manifesting competence, professionalism and humanity, even under extreme pressure.”

He assured the seafarers of the government’s continued support.

“We assure you of the government’s continued support and assistance, as you join your families, recover from your recent sad experience, and return to work at the earliest opportunity,” Del Rosario said.