Brother says he saw missing fisherman dragged by vessel that hit their boat

The survivor of a sea vessel crash off the coast of Subic, Zambales said that he saw his missing brother being dragged by the still-unidentified craft that hit their boat.

Brothers Robert and Jose Mondoñedo had set off from Barangay Wawandaue in Subic on July 1 to reach their payao—a floating aggregate device (FAD) used to attract fish—in the vicinity waters off Sampaloc Point. 

According to a 24 Oras report by Marisol Abdurahman on Wednesday, Robert said that they were eating lunch with the payao tied to the boat 60 nautical miles from shore on July 3 when the vessel suddenly appeared and hit them.

“’Yung kapatid ko nakatayo, tapos sabi ko sa kanya, 'huwag ka tumalon.' Andoon ako sa bangka. Ngayon, yung bangka pumailalim. Ngayon, kasama po ako. Ang ginawa ko masyadong malalim na, kasi nakahawak ako sa kawayan, ang ginawa ko nagbitaw ako,” said Robert.

(My brother was standing, and I told him not to jump. I was in the boat, and it went under. I went under too. What I did, because it was too deep and I was holding the bamboo, I let go.)

When he broke the surface, he saw his brother Jose getting dragged away by the vessel.

Robert said he knew that he wouldn’t be able to catch up due to the strength of the waves and the distance between them. After only a few minutes, he could no longer see his brother.

He clung to the payao and was rescued by another boat three days later.

“Ginawa [nila] naman kaming baboy… Mga tao din kami… P_a yang mga barko na yan. Kaya pag matulog ako, di ko talaga mawala sa isip ko talaga yung kapatid ko dahil dalawa kami eh,” Robert said.

([Those] people treated us like pigs… We are also people… F_ those ships. That’s why when I sleep, I can’t stop thinking about my brother because it was the two of us.)

The Philippine Coast Guard was able to retrieve the destroyed boat on Tuesday, and continue to hold out hope that Jose is still alive.

“Pinapaalam namin sa lahat ng may mga radio, nakakahagip ng impormasyon to be on the lookout for a possible sighting ng kahit katawan man lang siguro or any sign of life,” said Zambales Coast Guard station commander Captain Euphriam Diciano.

(We’re asking anyone with a radio, or can receive information, to be on the lookout for a possible sighting of even a body or any sign of life.)

The brothers’ fellow fishermen have also begun to aid in the search for their missing peer.

PCG also continues their probe into the identity of the vessel that crashed into the two fishermen and stated that the crash site was a “nautical highway.”

“May nakitang record ng vessel na dumaan dun pero still tinitignan namin yun kasi baka may posibilidad doon na nakapatay ang AIS. Merong isang suspek, yun yung nandun sa track pero minsan kasi very important na iconsider mo yung time,” Diciano added.

(We saw a record of a vessel that passed there, but we’re still looking into it because there’s a possibility that their AIS might have been off. There’s one suspect on the track, but sometimes it’s very important to consider the time). — Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/BM, GMA Integrated News