The Ro(Ro)ad to Masbate

By Andrew Jonathan S. Bagaoisan

(Shots by Anjo Bagaoisan)

AROROY, MASBATE– Our convoy of white—a van, a crew cab and a truck—arrived at the port of Pioduran, Albay minutes past 3 a.m. We came just in the nick of time. The first Roll On-Roll Off (RoRo) trip to Masbate island was scheduled to leave at 3.

We walked to the ticketing counter to ask if we could still catch up rather than wait for the next trip at 5. The lady there quickly shouted to the truck already backing up the narrow dock to stop.

As we paid the dues to the transport company, the ports authority, and the Coast Guard, a security guard at the pier approached. He showed us a video on the screen of his China-made cell phone.

“I took it around a month ago,” he said in Tagalog. He hadn’t offered it to anyone yet, not even to the news crew of another TV network that first boarded our ship.

The video was crude and pixilated, but it was gold as file video. It was footage of the M/V Lady of Carmel leaving Pioduran Port–-the reason we were travelling that way too.

The ship had sunk the day before on its way to Aroroy, Masbate. More than 50 passengers were rescued, two were found dead, and seven are still missing. The cause of the mishap is still unknown, and the ship hasn’t been found.

The guard sent the video to my phone via Bluetooth. To whom should we credit it to? “No need to use my name,” he said.