Body of missing Filipino fisherman found in Taiwan


Romulo Escalicas Jr is the third Filipino fisherman killed in the bridge collapse in Taiwan's east coast
Sofia Tomacruz
Published 2:52 PM, October 03, 2019
Updated 2:53 PM, October 03, 2019
BRIDGE COLLAPSE. Rescue personnel look on at a bridge after it collapsed in the Nanfangao fish harbor in Suao township on October 1, 2019. Photo by Sam Yeh/AFP
BRIDGE COLLAPSE. Rescue personnel look on at a bridge after it collapsed in the Nanfangao fish harbor in Suao township on October 1, 2019. Photo by Sam Yeh/AFP
MANILA, Philippines – The body of a Filipino fisherman who went missing after a bridge collapsed in Taiwan has been found.
The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) confirmed on Thursday, October 3, that the remains of Filipino fisherman Romulo Escalicas Jr were found at 11:28 am. This brings to 3 the total number of Filipinos killed in the incident.
DOLE earlier reported the death of two other Filipino fishermen , while another 5 fishermen sustained minor injuries from the collapse which saw a 460-foot long single-arch bridge crash onto fishing boats underneath it in Nanfangao, on Taiwan's east coast.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said the 5 injured Filipino fishermen had been treated for their injuries. They were given financial assistance from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and non-government organizations while hospital expenses were shouldered by their employers.
Manila Economic and Cultural Office Labor Attaché and Director of Labor Affairs Cesar Chavez Jr gave assurances the agency will assist in the repatriation of the remains of the 2 Filipino fishermen. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III had also said "all possible assistance" will be given to the families of those killed and that scholarship benefits will be given to the victims' children.
Taiwanese authorities are currently investigating the deadly collapse, which killed 6 and hurt 12 others. Built in 1998, the bridge was still within its expected 50-year lifespan.
Taiwan has a huge fishing industry that often employs low-paid migrant workers from countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. – Rappler.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more