Body of missing OFW on Saipan found floating at sea
KAGMAN, Saipan – The body of a Filipino worker in the US island of Saipan who went missing Tuesday morning after big waves swept him away while fishing was found floating at sea Wednesday morning.
Hilario “Larry" M. Palino’s body was recovered at 8:51 a.m. Wednesday and was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m. He was 41.
Palino, who is originally from the northern Philippine province of Ilocos Sur, left behind his wife Gigi and five children — the youngest is 8 months old and the eldest is 15.
“Nag-hope pa ako na sana buhay siya nung Martes … Pero nung nakita na nila yung katawan niya kaninang umaga, tinanggap ko na sa sarili ko na wala na siya (I had hoped he’s still alive on Tuesday…But when they found his body this morning, I accepted that he’s gone)," Mrs. Palino told GMANews.TV on the phone Wednesday afternoon.
The body was bloated when it was found at the same beach where he got swept away by big waves a day earlier while standing on a cliff line at Marine Beach in Kagman.
He always loved fishing, his wife said.
Mrs. Palino, 38, said her husband of 15 years will be buried in Saipan, which they consider their second home.
“Napakabait niyang asawa. Very loving, maalalahanin, wala na akong mahahanap na katulad niya. Isa rin siyang mabait na ama, anak at kaibigan (He’s a very kind husband. Very loving, thoughtful, and I won’t be able to find anybody like him)," she said.
All by herself
Mrs. Palino said her husband would have been 42 on Dec. 14.
“Lima ang anak namin. Ang pinakabata ay 8 months pa lang. Sabi namin palalakihin naming dalawa yung bunso, pero wala na siya (We have five children. The youngest is only 8 months old. We told each other we will raise the youngest child together, but he’s now gone)," Mrs. Palino said.
The other Palino children are 11, 12, 14 and 15 year olds.
Mrs. Palino is from Tuguegarao, Cagayan, also in the northern Philippines.
They met in Manila and became boyfriend-girlfriend for two years before getting married 15 years ago.
“Hindi ko inakala na mabubyuda ako sa ganitong edad (I never thought I’d be a widow at this age)," she said.
Palino worked as a stevedore at Saipan Stevedore for 10 years and eight months.
Ray Magsipoc, controller at Saipan Stevedore, said Palino was a kind man and was never involved in a fight with anybody.
He said when Palino’s coworkers — including safety officers and security guards — heard about the incident on Tuesday morning, they immediately proceeded to the area to help in the rescue operations.
Dangerous waters
“Pero pagdating doon, hindi sila pinalapit ng mga pulis kasi may ongoing rescue team na. Napakadelikado ng dagat nung time na iyon. Talagang oras na niya siguro. Nung araw na iyon, ininvite pa niya yung ibang stevedores na mag-fishing din (But when they got there, police did not allow them to go near because of an ongoing rescue operation. The sea was so dangerous at the time. Maybe it was his time. That same day, he invited other stevedores to go fishing too)," Magsipoc said.
He said Palino’s family will be taken cared of by Palino’s life insurance, plus double indemnity. Palino's membership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) expired in May 2008 and he was not able to renew it.
He said the beach where Palino was swept away claimed other lives in recent years.
It was Palino’s day off when he went fishing on Tuesday morning.
He was fishing with a couple when big waves swept him and another Filipino worker who later managed to swim to safety, contrary to preliminary police report that he was the only one who got swept away to sea and the other man tried to rescue him.
The wife of the survivor called for help when she saw her husband and Palino in the water trying to swim back to the cliff where they were standing.
Police received the call for help at about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Rescue operations that involved the US Coast Guard and local police and safety units went on until Tuesday night without success. Waves were large and surf conditions were dangerous at the time of the incident.
Many Filipino workers on Saipan island go fishing for recreation and for extra source of food.
Saipan is the capital of the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), where some 10,000 Filipinos and Filipino-Americans live and work. - GMANews.TV
Hilario “Larry" M. Palino’s body was recovered at 8:51 a.m. Wednesday and was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m. He was 41.
Palino, who is originally from the northern Philippine province of Ilocos Sur, left behind his wife Gigi and five children — the youngest is 8 months old and the eldest is 15.
“Nag-hope pa ako na sana buhay siya nung Martes … Pero nung nakita na nila yung katawan niya kaninang umaga, tinanggap ko na sa sarili ko na wala na siya (I had hoped he’s still alive on Tuesday…But when they found his body this morning, I accepted that he’s gone)," Mrs. Palino told GMANews.TV on the phone Wednesday afternoon.
The body was bloated when it was found at the same beach where he got swept away by big waves a day earlier while standing on a cliff line at Marine Beach in Kagman.
He always loved fishing, his wife said.
Mrs. Palino, 38, said her husband of 15 years will be buried in Saipan, which they consider their second home.
“Napakabait niyang asawa. Very loving, maalalahanin, wala na akong mahahanap na katulad niya. Isa rin siyang mabait na ama, anak at kaibigan (He’s a very kind husband. Very loving, thoughtful, and I won’t be able to find anybody like him)," she said.
All by herself
Mrs. Palino said her husband would have been 42 on Dec. 14.
“Lima ang anak namin. Ang pinakabata ay 8 months pa lang. Sabi namin palalakihin naming dalawa yung bunso, pero wala na siya (We have five children. The youngest is only 8 months old. We told each other we will raise the youngest child together, but he’s now gone)," Mrs. Palino said.
The other Palino children are 11, 12, 14 and 15 year olds.
Mrs. Palino is from Tuguegarao, Cagayan, also in the northern Philippines.
They met in Manila and became boyfriend-girlfriend for two years before getting married 15 years ago.
“Hindi ko inakala na mabubyuda ako sa ganitong edad (I never thought I’d be a widow at this age)," she said.
Palino worked as a stevedore at Saipan Stevedore for 10 years and eight months.
Ray Magsipoc, controller at Saipan Stevedore, said Palino was a kind man and was never involved in a fight with anybody.
He said when Palino’s coworkers — including safety officers and security guards — heard about the incident on Tuesday morning, they immediately proceeded to the area to help in the rescue operations.
Dangerous waters
“Pero pagdating doon, hindi sila pinalapit ng mga pulis kasi may ongoing rescue team na. Napakadelikado ng dagat nung time na iyon. Talagang oras na niya siguro. Nung araw na iyon, ininvite pa niya yung ibang stevedores na mag-fishing din (But when they got there, police did not allow them to go near because of an ongoing rescue operation. The sea was so dangerous at the time. Maybe it was his time. That same day, he invited other stevedores to go fishing too)," Magsipoc said.
He said Palino’s family will be taken cared of by Palino’s life insurance, plus double indemnity. Palino's membership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) expired in May 2008 and he was not able to renew it.
He said the beach where Palino was swept away claimed other lives in recent years.
It was Palino’s day off when he went fishing on Tuesday morning.
He was fishing with a couple when big waves swept him and another Filipino worker who later managed to swim to safety, contrary to preliminary police report that he was the only one who got swept away to sea and the other man tried to rescue him.
The wife of the survivor called for help when she saw her husband and Palino in the water trying to swim back to the cliff where they were standing.
Police received the call for help at about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Rescue operations that involved the US Coast Guard and local police and safety units went on until Tuesday night without success. Waves were large and surf conditions were dangerous at the time of the incident.
Many Filipino workers on Saipan island go fishing for recreation and for extra source of food.
Saipan is the capital of the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), where some 10,000 Filipinos and Filipino-Americans live and work. - GMANews.TV
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