OCCIDENTAL MINDORO, Philippines — A fishing trip that turned into a days-long ordeal ended in relief after five fishermen reported missing off Occidental Mindoro were found alive and in good condition, authorities confirmed.
The Philippine Coast Guard said Romnick Temenia, 35; Ronelio Temenia, 33; Arjhay Ortea, 30; Aldrin Bonilia, 34; and Agustin Ramirez, 50, were located in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, after their fishing boat was forced to seek shelter from strong winds and rough seas.
The men, all residents of Barangay Poblacion 1 in Santa Cruz, had left aboard the blue-and-white fishing banca FBCA Balong 3 on August 16. They were expected to return by August 18, but when they failed to come home, relatives and authorities raised the alarm.
What happened to the fishermen?
According to the Coast Guard, deteriorating weather conditions caught the group while they were fishing in waters off Santa Cruz.
Faced with strong winds and rough seas, the boat captain decided against attempting the journey home and instead moved closer to shore, temporarily anchoring near Barangay Poblacion I in Santa Cruz.
When conditions improved slightly, the group did not immediately head back to their home port. Instead, they traveled toward Sitio Tabok in Barangay Buenavista, Sablayan, looking for a safer location where they could shelter.
That decision appears to have kept the crew out of more dangerous waters, but it also meant their families had no immediate confirmation of where they were.
After Coast Guard personnel in Mamburao received information that the missing fishermen may have reached the Sablayan area, the Coast Guard Sub-Station Sablayan coordinated with the Sablayan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to verify the report.
Authorities subsequently confirmed that all five men were alive, uninjured and in good condition.
Their boat was also found intact, with no reported damage or mechanical problem. Family members later traveled to Sitio Tabok, where the fishermen were turned over safely to their relatives.
Habagat was already making Mindoro waters dangerous
The fishermen disappeared during a period when the southwest monsoon, or habagat, was producing unsettled weather across western Luzon.
PAGASA’s outlook for August 16 to 19 specifically warned that Occidental Mindoro could experience occasional to frequent rain because of the southwest monsoon.
On August 16—the same day the fishermen went to sea—PAGASA reported cloudy skies, scattered rains and thunderstorms over Occidental Mindoro, while the northern and western sections of Luzon were experiencing moderate to strong winds and moderate to rough seas.
Conditions remained difficult in the following days. By August 18, PAGASA was forecasting monsoon rains over Occidental Mindoro, warning of heavy to intense rainfall and continuing moderate to rough seas over western Luzon.
The wider weather situation provides important context for why Balong 3’s crew apparently chose shelter over attempting to return home immediately.
A separate group of fishermen was also reported missing
The five men aboard Balong 3 were not the only fishermen who ran into trouble in the area during the same spell of bad weather.
Three other fishermen — Dennis Asilum, Mark Anthony Asilum and Emil Tacuyan — were separately reported missing after leaving Santa Cruz on August 16 aboard FBCA Cassandra. The Coast Guard launched shoreline searches, radio calls to passing vessels and coordination with nearby stations while waiting for sea conditions to become safe enough for wider operations.
That was a separate maritime incident and should not be confused with the five Balong 3 fishermen who have now been confirmed safe.
One important correction to the original headline
The original Inquirer headline describes the fishermen as being found in an “Oriental Mindoro town.”
However, the report itself says they were found in Sablayan, which is in Occidental Mindoro, not Oriental Mindoro. The rewritten version uses Occidental Mindoro to avoid repeating that geographical inconsistency.
For coastal communities whose livelihoods depend on putting small boats to sea, the incident is also a reminder of how quickly monsoon weather can transform an ordinary fishing trip. In this case, there was no dramatic rescue from a sinking vessel and no damaged boat waiting offshore.
Instead, five fishermen faced worsening seas, changed course, found shelter—and days later were finally able to tell their families they were coming home.
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