Aid extended to kin of ill-fated Filipino crew as 2nd survivor named

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment on Saturday said that the government is providing all necessary assistance to the survivors and families of the missing Filipino crew members of the cargo ship that sank off the coast of Japan earlier this week.

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"We are in touch with the next of kin of the crew and we are providing them all the help we can give, including the latest information on the sea and rescue operation for our kababayans being done by Japanese authorities," Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a Saturday release.

The second survivor found among 39 Filipino seamen aboard the capsized Gulf Livestock 1 was identified as 30-year-old Jay-Nel Rosales from Cebu.

Rosales was already able to talk with his family back in the Philippines.

Taken to the Kagoshima-ken Kenritsu Ooshima Hospital for a complete medical check-up, he is said to be in stable condition and able to walk, according to a report from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Osaka, Japan.

The same report said that the identity of a retrieved dead body, believed to be that of another Filipino crew member, has yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, the first Filipino member rescued, Eduardo Sareno from Cebu, remains at the hospital and will be brought to a hotel for quarantine later this week.

He was provided with a mobile phone and is able to communicate with his family in the Philippines.

“We are updating the relatives of our unfortunate Filipino crewmen every time we receive information from the Japanese Coast Guard who is on top of the search and rescue operation,” Bello said.

The labor secretary said that the POLO in Japan is providing all the needs of the rescued seafarers, such as their personal requirements. 

He also said that all of the crew are entitled to all benefits and assistance due to distressed members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration since they are active members.