12 January 2005 – Continuous monitoring by the Philippine Embassy Task Force in Bangkok and the Consular Team in Phuket on the status of Filipinos affected by the tsunami has resulted in new information on survivors and a revision of the casualty list.  Today, Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Antonio V. Rodriguez reported to Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo that three names of Filipinos have been added to the list of survivors and are now considered safe and accounted for.

Ambassador Rodriguez informed the Secretary of the case of Mr. Ariel Mallari, who was previously listed as missing and has now been accounted for by his friends in Phuket, Thailand.  Mr. Alfredo Escares and Rodrigo Sulit executed sworn statements before Consul Marshall Louis M. Alfrerez, who is currently in Phuket, saying that on 01 January 2005, they saw and spoke to Mr. Mallari in high seas off the coast of Myanmar when their fishing boats exchanged supplies.  The two verified that Mr. Mallari was not affected by the tsunami disaster that hit countries around the Indian Ocean.  They have also conveyed the information to Mr. Mallari’s wife.  Mr. Mallari as well as Mr. Escares and Mr. Sulit are fishermen employed by Longwang Co.

Two new names not previously listed as “missing” or as having “unknown whereabouts,” were added by the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok to the list of survivors, these are Ms. Jane Mondala Aquino and Ms. Mildred Madeo Cadaweng, both Hong Kong-based Filipino workers.  The Philippine Consulate General in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong confirmed that Ms. Aquino and Ms. Cadaweng indeed survived the tsunami and immediately returned to Hong Kong after the disaster.

Meanwhile, Ms. Marian Pasag, who was previously listed as among the Filipino tsunami survivors in Thailand, has asked that her name be dropped from the list since, according to her, she was not in direct danger when the tsunami struck on 26 December 2004.  Ms. Pasag said that she was “adequately protected” on the 3rd floor of the Sofitel Hotel in Khao Lak when the waves came in.  Moreover, Ms. Pasag requested that her name be deleted, even from the “survivors” list, because doing so would give her mother here in the Philippines greater assurance that she is indeed safe.

The DFA is issuing an updated list of Filipino tsunami-victims in Thailand; please see the attached press release.  END.