Kin of missing Pinoy seafarer finds gov't support lacking

Published October 8, 2020 2:58pm By DONA MAGSINO, GMA News The government should take a stronger position on finding the still missing Filipino seafarers from the ill-fated vessel Gulf Livestock 1, one of the affected family members said on Thursday. Judge Maya Addug-Sanchez, sister of missing ship captain Dante Addug, said she is "sad and frustrated" because their family has been writing letters to the shipowner and the principal to check the sunken vessel in hopes of finding the missing bodies but no action has been taken yet a month after the painful tragedy. "I feel like they're toying with words. They're writing us back but you don't really see the genuineness because if they are really genuine enough to help us, they could have employed these equipment, these high-tech devices to check on the ship," Addug said during a webinar hosted by Senator Risa Hontiveros. "If we have the full support of the government. If the shipowner and the principal can see that our government is supporting that call, maybe they would feel also pressured because the government is already supporting the families," she added. Gulf Livestock from Napier Port in New Zealand was bound for China and was carrying nearly 6,000 cattle when it sank on September 2 after Typhoon Maysak struck at East China Sea. Addug said she expected a bolder support from those representing the seafarers in the House of Representatives. "I was expecting Marino party-list to make noise. It's their time na mag-ingay. Where is Marino party-list? I never heard from them," she lamented. "It's supposed to be their time to shine, to show their service to the seafarers--the constituents that they represent supposedly," she added. Addug said she hopes the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy can embark on a humanitarian mission to help in searching for the missing Filipino seafarers. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. earlier said the Japanese authorities did not cease their search operations. He added that other countries cannot join the search because "that is an attack on the sovereignty of Japan."—AOL, GMA News

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