7 Myanmar nationals stranded in Zambales to depart PH
SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES—After being stranded in the country for nearly a year, the seven Myanmar nationals in the care of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in this town, after their vessel ran aground in Silanguin Cove here, were turned over to the Myanmar Embassy for repatriation.
In a phone interview on Sunday, Cmdr. Euphraim Jayson Diciano, chief of PCG Zambales, said the formal turnover happened on Friday.
“There is no hindrance to repatriating the seven crew—most of whom are minors— since there have been no cases filed that they have violated Philippine law,” said Diciano.
In September last year, a vessel, Aung Naing Thu, which appeared to be a foreign wooden-hulled fishing boat and was believed to have been converted into a ferry operating between Thailand and Myanmar, ran aground in the waters of Zambales due to the rough seas.
Based on the statements of the crew, the vessel’s owner, a Myanmar national residing in Ranong province in Thailand, hired them to get the vessel from Surat Thani province in Thailand to bring to Ranong, which required them to cross some borders, such as Malaysia and the Singapore Strait.
The boat’s crew members claimed they had not left Thailand waters yet when they had engine trouble on Aug. 25 last year due to strong waves. They just floated in the sea for 14 days until they reached Silanguin Cove, off the town of San Antonio, where they ran aground on Sept. 9, 2024.
Since then, they were staying in the custody of the PCG station in Subic town and were not allowed to leave the country pending the investigation into the incident. PCG personnel shouldered their upkeep for almost a year and were provided with clothing, food and other necessities.
The PCG sent a letter of request to the local offices of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the province to conduct separate investigations to support case buildup.
During an underwater inspection, their distressed boat has caused damage to several coral reefs and other marine habitats in the cove where it ran aground. However, there are no cases filed against them.
