THREE months after the disappearance of a Filipino seafarer from a Panamanian flagged ship that sailed from Mexico to the United States, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said the captain’s report failed to satisfactorily answer questions regarding the case.
Ralph Bobiles, a deck cadet of vessel Prestige Ace, was reported missing on December 5, 2024.
Initial reports that reached the DMW indicated that he jumped overboard around three to four days after the ship sailed from Vera Cruz, Mexico en route to Baltimore, USA.
In a statement, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said: “We received the captain’s report and we are not satisfied with it as it fails to answer questions pertinent to the case. It was belatedly submitted and basically tells the story of no foul play without adequate proof.”
Cacdac said the department has launched its own investigation on the disappearance of Bobiles.
He said the Magna Carta for Seafarers requires the DMW to conduct its own investigation and provide sufficient information to the seafarer’s next of kin in cases of abandonment or disappearance.
“We will pursue our own investigation until the truth about the disappearance of seafarer Ralph Bobiles is uncovered. We have our own process for such cases,” Cacdac said.
The DMW disclosed that they have already interviewed 11 of the 19 seafarers on board the ship at the time of Bobiles’s disappearance.
They are also awaiting the reports of the Panamanian Flag State authorities and those from posts in the United States.
The DMW disclosed that the body of Bobiles has not been found to date.
