Fishing boat capsizes off West Philippine Sea; 31 rescued

MANILA, Philippines — Thirty-one fishermen have been rescued after their boat capsized in the waters off the Nares Bank in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the Philippine Navy confirmed yesterday.

“All those aboard the FB Pauline 2 are in good condition and will be brought to San Jose, Occidental Mindoro,” Commodore Donn Anthony Miraflor, chief of the Naval Forces West said.

A request for assistance made by another fishing boat, Española, was received on Sunday by the Navy’s central operation center.

“It so happened that our vessel, BRP Emilio Jacinto, was in Northern Palawan. We dispatched Jacinto to rescue the fishermen,” Miraflor said.

He said that Española was the first to assist the fishermen, but could not handle the matter all by itself as Pauline 2 had been sinking slowly since Saturday night.

Authorities identified the captain of Pauline 2 as Placido Asusina.

The Nares Bank is less than 200 nautical miles east of El Nido in Palawan.

Gil Gendrano, chief of the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office of San Jose, said he received the information about the rescue of the fishermen from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

“The PCG said the Philippine Navy would bring the fishermen here and that the ship will arrive at 8 p.m.,” he said.

It was fortunate that Jacinto was patrolling near the area when the Navy received the distress call, the Navy said.

The Navy, Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources have increased patrols in the waters off the WPS after Chinese maritime militia vessels were spotted around the Julian Felipe Reef and other areas within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.