Cadaver of missing Aeta chieftain found after fishing vessel sunk by hotel speed boat
MANILA, Philippines — Three days since he failed to return from a fishing trip, the body of the missing Aeta chieftain whose fishing boat collided with a hotel speed boat in Boracay has been found, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government.
DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said they retrieved the body of 64-year-old Ernesto Coching, chieftain of the Malaynon ATI Tribe Association, off the waters of Malay, Aklan near Sitio Airport, Barangay Caticlan Saturday afternoon.
Coching’s motorized boat was hit by a hotel speed boat late Wednesday night, which sunk him and his companion, Ricky Valencia, according to a report by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group. Valencia was immediately hospitalized following the incident.
More than 35 volunteer divers, including foreign divers, joined the Saturday retrieval operation on short notice, Abalos said in an earlier statement. They dived 15 to 25 meters under water covering 250,000 square meters to search for Coching’s body.
Members of the PNP, Philippine Coast Guard and local authorities from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council also joined the search and rescue operation, Abalos said.
According to a statement by the Aklan Police Provincial Office on Saturday morning, the hotel boat is a DIWATA 4 speed boat owned by Shangri-La Boracay.
Shangri-La Boracay has yet to issue a statement as of press time.
Valencia, who recounted the ordeal to Abalos, said that the collision took place at 9 p.m. on their way back to shore, after which the Shangri-la boat captain only "temporarily stopped" to check what happened before speeding away, a Rappler report stated.
Following the incident, the skipper of the Diwata-4 speedboat has been detained at the Malay Municipal Police Detention Facility. — Cristina Chi
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