Filipino seafarer found dead after going missing near Brazil; search on for 4 others

Metro Manila, Philippines - A Filipino seafarer was found dead five days after the release of a missing person report from a cruise ship bound for Brazil, the Department of Migrant Workers announced on Thursday, March 6.

The victim was identified as Jeric Bueno, a waiter who went missing on February 22 while on board the MSC Poesia Cruise Ship near Brazil.

In a hearing of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac reported that Bueno’s remains were found on February 27 after a five-day search.

“Right now, we are demanding an autopsy,” Cacdac said.

The agency is also processing financial and psychological assistance for the Bueno family and has instructed the manning agency to assist with transportation expenses.

Bueno’s case is one of five separate incidents of missing Filipino seafarers over the past two years.

The father of Ralph Anthony Bobiles, a deck cadet who went missing onboard the Panama-flagged MV Prestige Ace en route from Vera Cruz, Mexico to Baltimore, US on December 15, 2024, attended the hearing to appeal for help.

Ely Bongalon Bobiles said he last spoke to Ralph on December 5 and that his son was excited to come home for Christmas.

“Although may mga nagsasabi may foul play… feeling ko bilang isang tatay ni Ralph parang buhay siya (Although some are suggesting foul play… as a father, I feel that Ralph is still alive),” Ely, a barangay captain, told reporters.

In the meantime, he said his family will continue to wait for a report from Panamanian authorities, who promised results within the month.

The three other missing Filipino seafarers are Jimbo Cadungog, a chief cook last seen as his vessel approached Bari, Italy on August 31, 2024; Vicente San Diego, a third mate last seen onboard on June 16, 2023; and Abraham Leonen, an oiler who went missing on November 1, 2024, while the vessel he was aboard was anchored in Batangas City.

Cacdac said the DMW has engaged with all manning agencies, shipowners, and foreign authorities involved to locate the missing seafarers and investigate their cases.

Senator Raffy Tulfo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, urged the DMW to implement measures to ensure seafarers’ safety, including the installation of CCTVs on vessels.

Cacdac said this could be included in the rules to be issued by the agency regarding the disappearance of seafarers.