CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – Three Filipino fishermen who were rescued by Taiwan’s coast guard last July 21 after big waves destroyed their boats arrived at the Clark International Airport yesterday morning.
They arrived at around 6 a.m. on board an AirAsia flight from Taiwan.
Carlito Marquez, administrative assistant of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), said fishermen Ronald Dumaran, Edwin Zoilo and Gener Mendoza looked “okay†when he and two of his staffers fetched them from the airport.
“They arrived with small bags containing old clothes donated by Filipinos in Taiwan where they stayed in the Catholic Stalle Maris Center,†Marquez said.
He said MECO paid for their airplane fare and gave them allowance for their transport to their hometowns in Iba, Zambales and Santa Ana, Cagayan.
“We have already informed their families who are expected to welcome them in their hometowns,†he said.
The rescued fishermen were supposed to be brought to the house of the fishing boats’ owner in Parañaque City where they were expected to meet with their employer before they return to their provinces.
Marquez also said MECO and the Department of Foreign Affairs have been coordinating with Taiwanese authorities for the repatriation of the remains of another Filipino fisherman, Larry Salingbuhay, whose body was already decomposed when found by the Taiwanese coast guard. Another fisherman is still missing.
“Hopefully, the cremated remains would be brought back to his family in Santa Ana, Cagayan by Friday,†Marquez said.
The fishermen were on board two boats that sailed last July 15 from Port Irene in Cagayan. On July 17, big waves spawned by Tropical Storm Cimaron destroyed their boats, which drifted for five days some 80 nautical miles off Kaohsiung port in southern Taiwan, before they were rescued.
The rescue came following an incident last May when a Philippine patrol vessel manned by Coast Guard personnel shot at a Taiwanese fishing boat near the Balin-tang Channel in northern Philippines, killing a Taiwanese fisherman. The incident triggered protests in Taiwan.