The number of people missing due to the effects of the shear line in Catanduanes rose to 10 last week as heavy rains, flooding and rough seas continued to be felt.
These include the nine fishermen who set out from Pandan on Jan. 1, 2025 to their fishing ground at a private buoy in the Pacific Ocean and failed to return days later, with the 10th a Viga farmer who was swept away by a flooded river on Jan. 9.
The Pandan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MRDDMO) learned of the missing fishermen from Balogñonan barangay kagawad Rolly Dalipe on Jan. 6 after they failed to return as scheduled on Jan. 5 on board two motorized bancas.
Said to be on board the orange banca with blue lining were Rafael Idanan, 42, married; Melchor Bordeos, 51, married; Jeremy Icawat, 22, single; Noel Basi, 21, single; and Edwardson Datu, 33, married.
On the blue motorized banca with yellow lining were Alvin Naldo, 62, married; Angelo Naldo, 32, married; Pudi Naldo, 37, married; and Santino Bordeos, 18, single.
Idanan and Icawat are residents of Balogñonan while the other seven are residents of Tabaco City, with three of them currently residing in the coastal village of Pandan.
Upon receiving the info from Dalipe, the MDRRMO immediately relayed the matter to Mayor Raul Tabirara who coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard for the conduct of a search and rescue operation that set out at 10 AM that morning.
During the operation that continued until that afternoon, the team found only a jumbo-sized styrofoam container that the families of the missing fishermen confirmed was aboard one of the lost bancas.
Another search operation the following day was halted due to rough sea condition while a request to the Provincial DRRMO and the Office of Civil Defense for an aerial search was still pending due to unfavorable weather.
As of Monday morning (Jan. 13, 2025), one of the nine fishermen reported missing was found in a state of decomposition on the shore of Palumbanes island in barangay Toytoy, Caramoran.
Based on the tattoo on his arm, the dead man was identified by a relative through the Tabaco CDRRMO as Santino Bordeos, 18, a resident of Tabaco City.
Mayor Tabirara, together with MDRRMO personnel, distributed family food packs to the families of the missing fishermen while financial assistance was still being processed for release.
Meanwhile, another search, rescue and retrieval operation was launched in Viga on Jan. 10 after relatives reported that Rufo Isorena Torres, 74, was swept away by strong river currents in Begonia a day earlier.
Using a rubber boat, teams from the MDRRMO, PRDDMO and PCG scoured the riverbanks for any sign of Torres, who was wearing a green shirt and gray shorts when he disappeared.
The search has yet to find the missing man as the adverse weather temporarily suspended the operation.