STILL MISSING. Search and rescue operations continue for P/Cpl. Mark Anthony Alejandro, who went missing when a vessel carrying him and other security personnel capsized in Antique last May 8, 2020. His cap was found floating near the island barangay of Semirara on Sunday (May 10, 2020). (Photo courtesy of PCG-Antique)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The cap of a missing police officer found floating on the seawater near the island barangay of Semirara in this province could help in the ongoing search and rescue (SAR) operation.
Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Officer Broderick Train said in an interview Monday that the SAR team found on Sunday the police cap of P/Cpl. Mark Anthony Alejandro, floating about two to three kilometers away from the area where their vessel capsized last Friday.
“The SAR operation is being conducted on a wider scale today to include the area where the cap, which is a personal belonging of the police, was found,” he said.
Alejandro was reported missing while five others - three police officers and two Philippine Coast Guard members - were rescued, after their boat serving as security for another group delivering relief goods for quarantine-affected villagers capsized off Caluya town.
Based on the spot report, the M/B Habana vessel capsized between the waters of Sibolo and Liwagao Islands around 8:30 a.m. on May 8.
Caluya Mayor Regil Kent Lim had earlier said that Rep. Loren Legarda sent a chopper and a speedboat to assist in the SAR operation.
He said that the municipal government was scheduled to hold a relief operation in line with the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) crisis in Sitio Liwagao of the island barangay of Sibolo when the tragic incident happened.
“It was truly an unpredictable accident that we are all worried of the situation of P/Cpl. Alejandro considering that he is a potential policeman and an asset to the organization and to the LGU (local government unit),” the mayor said. (PNA)
