The government has provided over P700,000 in cash and kind to the passengers and kin in the ferry fire that claimed 28 lives off the coast of Basilan province last week, Department of National Defense officer-in-charge Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said over the weekend.
In his report to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday, Galvez said both national and local government units have extended the necessary assistance to the victims of the fire that gutted M/V Lady Mary Joy 3, which ended up in Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the provincial government of Basilan have distributed financial assistance worth P640,000, and provided more than P71,000 worth of food and non-food items, the DND official said.
Authorities on the ground accounted for 28 dead, 32 missing, and 227 survivors from the sea mishap as of April 1, Galvez said.
Local and provincial authorities in Basilan and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) provided the victims with hygiene kits and clothing, he added.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) also distributed meals to the victims, while social workers conducted psychosocial intervention for the survivors staying at the DSWD Home for Women in Mampang, Zamboanga City.
The Philippine Red Cross also conducted first-aid treatment to the survivors and provided cadaver bags for the people who died, the Defense chief told the President.
“During the retrieval operations, it came out that out of the 18 bodies visually identified, only 17 actual cadavers were recovered from the scene. Subsequently, the said bodies were brought to Villa Arcega Funeral Homes in Zamboanga City for proper identification and disposition,” Galvez said.
Currently, two Multi-purpose Assault Crafts (MPACs) of the Philippine Navy that served as the incident’s first responders are still in the area conducting search, rescue, and retrieval operations, Galvez added.
“Furthermore, the OCD (Office of Civil Defense), in collaboration with the local agencies, continues the accounting of the victims to process the necessary assistance and insurance claims. Our AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PCG troops are also still in the area providing all the needed support and assistance to the victims’ families and the community,” Galvez said.
