Philippine National Police (PNP) acting chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. on Tuesday committed police assistance in the investigation into the sinking of a passenger vessel off the waters of Pilas Island in Basilan on Monday.
However, he said the PNP’s current priority is conducting search and rescue operations to account for all missing passengers.
“We already deployed our personnel and resources to assist in the search and rescue operations. This is the priority right now. We also alerted commanders of territorial units in coastal areas to intensify monitoring in coordination with local residents and officials,” Nartatez said.
RORO vessel M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank while en route to Jolo from Zamboanga City at around 1:50 a.m. on January 26.
Records showed the vessel was carrying 332 passengers and 27 crew members.
At least 18 people died, 24 others were reported missing, and 317 individuals were rescued. A total of 13 policemen from the Zamboanga Peninsula police regional office were among those rescued.
The top cop also expressed condolences to the families of all the fatalities, including a police officer assigned to the Regional Mobile Division Unit 9.
“This is a tragic incident, and the families of those who lost their relatives are demanding an explanation. We will help in the conduct of the investigation to establish what really happened,” Nartatez said.
He said coordination is being done with the Philippine Coast Guard and other concerned agencies for both the search-and-rescue mission, as well as for the conduct of the probe.
Nartatez also directed police personnel in the area to extend assistance to the rescued passengers, including transportation to their homes if necessary.
