The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has recovered a sixth body in the ongoing search-and-rescue (SAR) operations for the missing recreational motorboat MBCA Amejara, which went missing off Southern Mindanao earlier this month.
The Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao (CGDSEM) said the latest body was found Sunday evening floating in waters off Buca Point, Maasim, Sarangani, and was recovered by a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel.
The remains were later transferred to BRP Panglao and brought to Balut Island for evaluation.
The Amejara, which was carrying passengers and crew, was reported missing on January 19 after leaving Santa Ana Wharf in Davao City en route to Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental.
One survivor, identified as Christopher Gulig, was rescued on January 20 in waters off Sarangani and is undergoing medical treatment.
As of Monday, nine passengers and crew members remain missing.
In an online briefing, CGDSEM commander Commodore Philipps Soria said authorities will continue SAR operations despite more than a week having passed since the incident, stressing that efforts have not shifted to retrieval operations.
“We will not be shifting [to retrieval] or counting days until our operations shift. Until practicable, we will continue SAR operations,” Soria said.
He said search teams are operating between Sector 4 and the adjacent Sector 3 following updated drift analysis indicating that remains could move closer to Sarangani Bay and the northern Celebes Sea.
Sector 4 covers deep offshore waters in the southern Celebes Sea, southwest of Sarangani and Davao Occidental.
Five bodies were initially reported recovered on January 24. However, PCG spokesperson Capt. Noemie Cayabyab later clarified that only four bodies believed to be from the Amejara were recovered that day.
Cayabyab noted that one body spotted during an aerial search had already been among those earlier retrieved by local fishermen.
The sixth body was recovered during subsequent operations.
The remains recovered in waters off Davao Occidental and Sarangani have been turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation for post-mortem examination and identification by their families.
The PCG said it remains in close coordination with partner agencies, including the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao, Eastern Mindanao Command, the Philippine Air Force’s Tactical Operations Wing Eastern Mindanao, and the Office of Civil Defense in the Davao Region.
