SAN JOSE, Antique – Excursionists were told to strictly observe safety measures after a speedboat capsized off Antique’s coast on Maundy Thursday, claiming one life.
Provincial Tourism Officer Jose Ramlu Villaluna on Saturday said the incident was “unanticipated.”
He added that prior to the Holy Week, the Provincial Tourism Office implemented measures to make sure that the vacationers were safe, especially those coming to the beach destinations in the province, like the Mararison Island in Culasi town, where the speedboat was off to.
The speedboat, which was from Barangay Aras-Asan, Sebaste town, carried Pandan mayor Jonathan Tan, his bodyguard Bennie Dable, actresses Bianca Manalo and Ehra Mardigal, Majel Tresche, Tom Yeung (Madrigal’s husband), Torebeo Barrentos, and Joyce Mallari and her two daughters aged 12 and eight.
Strong waves hit the speedboat, causing it to capsize, police said.
Dable drowned after being hit by the boat while the nine others were able to hold onto the vessel.
Tan and Barrentos swam for more than two hours to the shoreline to seek help until fishermen saw them, Sebaste police head Senior Inspector Glen Jaromay told Panay News.
“Mayor Tan went on board a pump boat and went back to where the boat capsized and rescued his friends and visitors,” Jaromay said.
Dable was rushed to the Justice Calixto Zaldivar Memorial Hospital where the attending physician pronounced him “dead on arrival.”
Villaluna stressed that the public must be extra careful while touring the province.
“We are reminding tourists to always observe safety,” he added.
Villaluna is hoping that the incident won’t cause fear among other tourists visiting Antique, which the Department of Tourism considers as the “catch basin” of tourists amid the closure threat and cleanup in Boracay.
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Broderick Train said Tan and the other survivors were now safe.
“There was no mechanical problem on the speedboat and it was not raining then but the waves were so big,” said Sebaste Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Ernesto Galido. (With a report from PNA/PN)
