For at least 12 hours, a fisherman who survived the sinking of a motorized banca at Maqueda channel swam for his life until he was rescued by fellow fishermen from San Andres just off Caramoan, Camarines Sur.
According to the report of the Catanduanes police, Romulo Romero Flores, Jr., 39, a resident of Cabcab, went fishing at about 5:30 P.M. of Jan. 31, 2020, together with Andy Subion and Domingo Lazado, both of Codon, on board the banca.
Sometime afterwards, huge waves hit their frail wooden vessel, causing it to capsize. Subion and Lazado managed to swim to the shoreline while Flores went missing.
At 7:20 P.M., the two survivors reported the incident to the San Andres police station, which immediately coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) and the barangay captains of adjacent barangays in the conduct of search and rescue operations.
The following day, Feb. 1, 2020 at about 7:30 A.M., fishermen from Sitio Suki, Divino Rostro, spotted the missing fisherman swimming in the sea off barangay Colongcogong, Caramoan, Camarines Sur. They brought the exhausted and thankful survivor to the Juan M. Alberto Memorial District Hospital where he was treated and is now in a stable condition.