Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, 9 February, visited and met with the survivors and the families of the victims of the maritime incident involving M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 in Jolo, Sulu.

During the visit, Duterte offered her condolences to the bereaved families and expressed solidarity with those affected by the tragedy.

"I am happy that I was able to visit Jolo, Sulu again. What happened was sad, but we are here to reach out to the families of the victims, and the loved ones of their families," she said in an interview.

The vice president said her office has given financial assistance for the families of the victims—not just for those who died during the sea tragedy, but also survivors.

"All the families of the victims of the accident in RoRo were given financial assistance. We also gave them rice boxes as well as grocery items," she said.

Duterte also said that the Office of the Vice President has established the Disaster Operations Center to provide assistance for accidents and disasters.

"We established the Disaster Operations Center to assist our satellite offices in different areas, such as Sulu, near Zamboanga City. So it's a bit quick to move around because we have satellite offices and Disaster Operations Center," she added.