Sulu Sea churns up unsung heroes

Zamboanga City — The MV Trisha Kerstin 3, a roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ferry packed with 341 souls fleeing storms off Baluk-Baluk Island in the Sulu Sea capsized on 26 January, claiming 52 lives and leaving 24 missing.

Yet, from the abyss arose tales of quiet bravery, embodied by two soldiers whose names echo resilience: Cpl. Lorenzce Teonilo and Pvt. Gilmark B. Pasion.

As members of the Philippine Army’s 21st Infantry Battalion (21 IB), they transformed terror into hope, prioritizing strangers over themselves in a test of humanity.

Teonilo, already aboard during the Zamboanga-to-Jolo leg, sensed the tilt before the hull screamed. “It was subtle at first,” he recounted, “but the deck leaned like a drunkard’s shoulder.”

Fear rippled through cabins, and he sprang into action, rallying fellow soldiers and shielding the civilians nearest him. The power failed abruptly, plunging everything into absolute blackness.

Visibility vanished, yet Teonilo navigated by instinct, guiding confused passengers toward stability. When the ship finally broke free, swallowing itself whole, he plunged into the churning water, the currents clawing at him like vengeful spirits.

There, amid drowning cries and flailing limbs, Teonilo performed miracles. He snatched a child, about 10 years old, vest-less and fading from the surface, improvising flotation with scrap foam to tether him safely aloft. Waves crashed mercilessly, but he clung close, murmuring assurances until calmer waters beckoned.

Bedlam on the seas

Nearby, an adult woman gasped for breath, her arms thrashing against the water’s pull. Teonilo steered her toward a fragile life raft, positioning his body as a bulwark against the surge, sustaining her until aid came.

Collaborating with unnamed comrades, he soothed hysterical passengers, offering words and grip alike, even as fatigue gnawed at his bones. “Others mattered more,” he reflected, his heroism whispered rather than proclaimed, proving that valor wears no crown but bears the salt of sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Pasion, equally steadfast, anchored his resolve. Panic erupted like wildfire, but Pasion secured his own gear first, then dove headlong into the fray.