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BY MERIANNE GRACE EREÑETA
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ILOILO City – Before going out to sea, fishermen using motorboats must check their engines, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
“The boat engines must be functioning well. If there is engine trouble, the fishermen may end up stranded in the sea,” said Lieutenant Commander Ramil Palabrica of PCG-Iloilo.
On Dec. 17, 34-year-old fisherman Maximino Sernicula of Barangay Santa Rita, San Joaquin, Iloilo failed to return home. It turned out that the engine of his motorboat malfunctioned.
Sernicula’s boat drifted for hours. Around 5 p.m. on Dec. 18 it reached the waters of Barangay Lapas, Hamtic, Antique.
“Sernicula was found alive and successfully rescued by a fisherman,” said Palabrica.
Aside from checking the boat engine, fishermen must also have a cell phone if they can afford it.
“With a cell phone, they can alert their families should anything happen to them,” said Palabrica.
Sernicula was brought to the Hamtic municipal health office for treatment after he was rescued.
Palabrica also reminded fishermen not to set out to sea during inclement weather.
“But even if there is no adverse weather advisory from the state weather bureau, fishermen must be cautious. Don’t go fishing when the seas are rough,” he stressed./PN
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