Arellano U nursing graduate saves lives in Cebu collision

MANILA, Philippines - For a number of passengers, it was a blessing that Alwin Patosa, a nursing graduate of Arellano University, was aboard M/V St. Thomas Aquinas that fateful night last Aug. 16 when the ferry collided with Sulpicio Express Siete, a cargo vessel, and sank in waters off Cebu.

Patosa was having dinner with two female cousins when they suddenly felt a great jolt, shutting off the lights, and they heard people screaming and crying. Chaos broke out, sending his two cousins into panic, but he prevailed upon them to stay calm.

Patosa immediately ordered them to run to their cabin to get their jackets and wear them, while he took important documents and his cell phone which he securely put into a plastic bag, then ran out in the pitch dark and chaotic deck.

Upon seeing a rope hanging on the side of the boat, with keen presence of mind, Patosa quickly rappelled to the cold water below and commanded his cousins to slide down the rope where he caught them. Immediately, he was able to seize a vacant lifeboat where he loaded his cousins into. However, after securing their safety, Patosa decided to jump back into the cold water, with a rope tied to his waist to get 10 more into the lifeboat – children, women and the elderly. They were 15 in the lifeboat all in all.

Not content with just saving lives from drowning in the night sea, Patosa, with his training as a nurse, asked if there was anybody who needed emergency treatment.

A mother hysterically shouted her baby was not breathing and Patosa immediately took the baby, applied CPR and heaved a sigh of relief when after a few seconds, the baby started crying.

He expertly managed to keep his 14 companions in the lifeboat to keep calm and assured them – which was a vital factor in saving their lives – until help came with the arrival of fishermen in their bancas who brought them ashore to safety.

As of press time yesterday, of the 870 passengers aboard M/V St. Thomas Aquinas, 110 were confirmed dead and 27 were still missing.