32 Sulu soldiers survived Basilan sea mishap

COTABATO CITY — Among the 316 survivors in the boat mishap off the coast of Basilan last week were 32 personnel of an Army unit in Sulu, now back to their duties in the province.

Officials of the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) and a station in Sulu of the state-owned Radyo Pilipinas reported on Monday that Brig. Gen. Alaric Avelino P. Santos, commander of the 1102^nd Infantry Brigade (IB) in Sulu, met the 32 personnel at their Jolo headquarters and cheered them on for having survived the ordeal.

The 32 soldiers were among the almost 400 passengers of the M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 that sank before dawn on Jan. 26 near Basilan’s Hadji Muhtamad island town, while sailing for Jolo from the Zamboanga City Port.

Civilian survivors told reporters and personnel of the Basilan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office that among those who calmed them down and helped them put on life vests distributed by crewmen of the ill-fated M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 were the members of the 21^st IB onboard.

Emergency responders from the office of Basilan Governor Mujiv S. Hataman and the mayor of Hadji Muhtamad Arsina Kahing-Nanoh, separately told reporters on Monday that the number of boat passengers who perished in the incident is now 43.

WestMinCom’s commander, Army Major Donald M. Gumiran, has ordered officials of their units in Basilan and in Sulu to support the rehabilitation and psychological interventions by different line agencies for rescued passengers of the M/V Trisha Kerstin 3. — John Felix M. Unson