Search for missing seafarer continues

By Felipe V. Celino 

 

ROXAS CITY, Capiz— Investigation and search on a missing seafarer of Brgy. Dolores in Dumalag, Capiz has continued to determine the real cause of his disappearance.

Police Captain Leomindo Tayopon, Dumalag Municipal Police Station police chief, said police on February 11, 2021 conducted area inspection of the place where Marnel Bulahan, 46, was last seen on October 6, 2020.

Tayopon said they borrowed a K9 sniffing dog from the Philippine Coast Guard to determine if there was a cadaver near Bulahan’s house.

Police also checked and opened the septic tank near the house but they found nothing.

Tayopon added that they will not stop until the family finds out what happened to Bulahan.

He asked the public to immediately inform the police of any lead that will help the case.

Police initially conducted a Search and Retrieval Operation for 13 days since Bulahan was missing.

The search included personnel of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO)-Dumalag, PDRRMO-Capiz, Philippine Coast Guard-Capiz, BFP-Dumalag, Dumalag PNP, local officials of Barangay Dolores and other volunteers.

The family in October last year sought the help of the authorities as they believe that he is still alive.

Rosemarie Bulahan, 69, of Brgy. Manapao, Pontevedra, asked help from Pontevedra Mayor Esteban Contreras to help them find her son Marnel who allegedly drowned while crossing the river.

Rosemarie said their family also sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation and other concerned government agencies to find the victim, whether dead or alive.

She said their family does not believe that he drowned because the victim knows how to swim being a seafarer.

She added that her son may have been abducted and killed because his body was never recovered despite massive retrieval and search operations conducted by several volunteers.

Marnel is from Brgy. Manapao Pontevedra and was married to a woman from Brgy. Dolores Dumalag whom he has two children with.

Bulahan, who went home to the Philippines in January 2020, was last seen Oct 6, 2020 in his poultry and piggery farms. He was wearing black short pants, green sando, and white pair of boots.

His family offered a PHP50,000 reward to whoever could find him.

The municipal government of Dumalag added another P50,000 reward.

The Bulahan family said any information on the victim’s location could be sent to cellular phone numbers (920) 876-9124 and (916) 754-2193.