ZAMBOANGA CITY, 24 December 2003 — A Panamanian cargo ship rescued at least 20 Filipino passengers of a sunken ferry off the southern Philippines, the coast guard said yesterday.

The cargo ship Pacific Valor was enroute to Sandakan in Malaysia from China when its crew spotted the Filipinos and plucked them off Balabac Island in the Sulu Sea around 10.20 p.m. on Monday, said Lt. Armand Balilo, the coast guard spokesman.

“We are grateful with the crew of the Pafic Valor, a Panamian cargo ship, for saving the lives of the Filipinos,” Balilo told Arab News.

Another 12 people, the crew from two fishing boats, were rescued off the island of Polillo in Quezon province, east of Manila, the civil defense office said.

A number of crew of three other fishing vessels in the area have been missing since Saturday. One of the boats was found adrift off the coast of nearby Perez Island with one of its six crew members dead on deck and the rest missing.

Balilo said search and rescue operation is going on off Palawan province where the Filipino ferry Pia-Ry, carrying 74 passengers and crew members, sank in bad weather on Sunday after sailing from Mapun town in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi.

The Piary, a 63-ton wooden ferry owned by Filipino trader Mohamad Hussin, was on its way to Palawan when it sent out a distress signal, saying, the boat’s bow was broken and sipping water.

Balilo said strong waves smashed a hole in the boat’s wooden bow and was taking on water near Brooke’s Point, about 60 nautical miles off Palawan province. Balilo said the rescued passengers were brought to Palawan.

Coast Guard chief Arthur Gosingan has ordered additional patrol boats from the central Philippines to help in the search for the missing passengers. Reconnaisance planes were also deployed to search for survivors, he said.

“We assume that the vessel sank,” coast guard chief Armando Gosingan said.

The Pia-Ry’s manifest said 75 passengers and crew were aboard, but officials say the ferry could have been overloaded, noting that nearly half of the survivors were not on the ferry’s manifest. (Additional input from Inquirer News Service)