CEBU, Philippines - When they boarded the ship, each of the passengers of the ill-fated MV St. Thomas Aquinas never thought they were headed for a cold, tragic ordeal at sea.
Despite his age, 77-year-old Cesar Comendador of Libuac, Surigao Del Norte swam as fast as he could and managed to get away from the ill-fated ship before it finally sunk last Friday night.
"Mananagat man 'ta maong paspas ta nakalangoy, (I am a fisherman, that's why I was able to swim fast.)" he said.
The thin, old man said he took off his clothes so he could easily move. Wearing only his underwear, he jumped to the sea and swam away from the area. It was some 30 minutes later when a rescue boat arrived and took him in.
That fateful night, Comendador said he was standing beside the ship's railings and was looking at the bright lights of Cebu City. When they were about to dock, the collision happened.
He said the ship tilted and shortly after a member of the crew asked everyone to stay calm, the lights went out.
As the ship was sinking halfway, Comendador decided to jump off the ship together with his eight younger companions on the trip. He later learned that one of his companions, a certain Romulo Escropulo, did not make it alive.
Comendador said they were supposedly bound for Manila to attend a week-long religious mission seminar in Mandaluyong City.
"Kuhaon mi ug dalhon gyud sa Manila. Mas angay gyud ning tambungan ang among Baptist mission, (We will be fetched and brought to Manila. Now it's more necessary to attend our Baptist mission.)" the septuagenarian said, when asked about his plans after the tragedy.
While the elder man struggled to survive, an expectant mother was also swimming for the safety of two lives.
Six-months pregnant Kaye Limosnero, 21, did not let her fragile condition dampen her will to survive.
Limosnero travelled alone from Mindanao, bound for Cebu City, to get her Transcript of Records from the University of Cebu where she graduated just this year.
She was lying on the deck when the collision took place.
"Naniguro na lang ko og langoy. Wa na'y life vest-ay, (I struggled to swim even without a life vest.)" Limosnero said.
The Freeman witnessed the PCG team rescuing the victim and securing her on the boat around 11 pm.
A tear-jerking scene was also witnessed at 2GO's holding center when couple Rolando Manligis, 30, and Gina Payag, 29, reunited with their two-year-old daughter several hours after they got separated amidst the chaos that ensued in the vessel during the collision.
"Paspas kaayo ang mga panghitabo. Pagdinaganay na sa mga tawo, paglingi nako wala na akong asawa. Naniguro na lang ko'g luwas namo sa among bata pero akong huna-huna, dia gyud niya (Payag), na wala na gyud (Everything happened so fast. When everyone started running, I turned but could not find my wife. I decided to secure our child but my thoughts were on her fearing that my wife was gone.)" a teary-eyed Manligis narrated while recalling the ordeal. — Nina G. Sumacot, Jessa J. Agua and Ria Mae Y. Booc/MIT (FREEMAN)