21 Zambales fishers rescued in Palawan

Twenty-one fishermen from Subic, Zambales reported missing in Palawan last week were rescued by a Navy patrol boat on Sunday, off the Philippine-occupied Lawak Island in the Spratlys and are due to arrive in this city on Tuesday.

Colonel Amerigo Fabrigar, Western Command spokesman, said the fishermen were picked up around 7:30 p.m. Sunday by the Navy's PS 17 patrol vessel, which was conducting "territorial patrol" of the Philippine-occupied areas of the Kalayaan Island group.

"They had been brought to the Lawak detachment where they were taken care of prior to their transfer to Puerto Princesa City," Fabrigar told the Philippine Daily Inquirer

Fabrigar said they have coordinated with the Palawan provincial hospital where the fishermen would undergo a medical check-up upon their arrival here.

The Western Command report said the fishermen's boat ran aground near Sabina Shoal last January 16.

No casualty was reported and the fishermen were in good physical condition after receiving assistance from the military personnel assigned at the Lawak detachment, the report said. By Redempto Anda - Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau