Foul play eyed in case of missing Pinoy seafarer

Relatives fear foul play in the case of the missing 37-year-old Filipino seaman who was supposed to return to the Philippines aboard a Greek vessel last week.

Pamela Zabal-Lontoc said her brother Phillip Jay Zabal, chief cook for Greekflagged M/V Elpis, was declared missing last June 30.

Zabal’s contract started last January and will end in October.

According to Lontoc, her sister-in-law received last July 1 a call from Zabal’s agency, Bright Maritime Corp., asking her to go to the agency’s office in Ortigas, Pasig City.

“My mom had accompanied her and they broke the news that my brother was declared missing Monday (June 30) night by the captain and the principal contacted the local agency about the incident,” Lontoc wrote in her Facebook account.

Citing the company’s report, Lontoc said the mess man saw her brother’s slippers at the portside upper deck area while he was going to dispose garbage.

The mess man said he informed the ship captain right away, according to her.

“As per the report, they immediately searched the vessel and he could not be found inside the ship. Captain ordered the ship to maneuver for search and rescue and had asked helped from nearby coast guard and boatmen,” she said.

“My brother is not insane to jump from a ship. He had called wanting to go home and be with his family. He is a good man and had high hopes for his daughters that’s why he had sacrificed years to give his family a good life. Why in the world will he be missing when all he wants is to go home and be with his family?”

The ship Elpis came from Cienfuegos in Cuba via Panama and was transiting the East China Sea bound for North China.

Two days before he went missing, Zabal said he wanted to quit and had told his wife that he will be submitting his resignation citing family issues as a reason so he will be allowed to go home right away, according to Lontoc.

The following day, he called again and asked his family if anyone had been trying to contact them because it seemed as if somebody rummaged through his things and was able to log in to his social network sites though his laptop.

She said her sister-in-law was able to talk to her brother on the morning of June 30 but the line was cut off. The conversation lasted for only two minutes.

Lontoc said they have sought the assistance of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The OWWA, she said, questioned the local agency why there was no notification sent to OWWA and DFA, which should have been done the day they received the report from the principal owner, Kon-Quest based in Greece.

“It was only done Thursday morning when we visited their Ortigas office,” Lontoc said.

“Until now we do not have any news, no reports from the captain and statements of all crew,” she said.

“What we want is a full investigation. It looks as if the agency will not move until we escalate the matter,” she said.