Part 1: Rappler returns to San Jose 5 months later, in November, as the crewmen finish their repairs and prepare to sail back to Recto Bank. While Gem-Ver has been patched up, its men have drifted apart.
returned from the West Philippine Sea, they appeared unstoppable.
The mechanic, Boy Gordiones, was no longer part of the crew. Instead of caring for Gem-Ver’s engine, Boy sat on a monobloc chair in his home, as he minded his sari-sari store just two minutes on foot from the voyage point.were hired to replace them. But that night proved to be the last straw. Junel stood in the dark and decided that the upcoming trip would be his last with Gem-Ver.
After returning, Gem-Ver’s men lingered for weeks around the Dela Torre home, waking at dawn and staying until dark with bottles of Red Horse. During those days, Felix and Junel put their arms around one another as they vowed to repair their ship. When Gem-Ver sank, Felix charged towards the West Philippine Sea to lead its homebound haul. He wept when he first saw the damaged boat – passed on to him by his late father – barely floating as his men stood silent on a nearby rescue boat, reeling.
Gem-Ver’s stern had been torn off, the masts toppled, and its equipment had been gutted by the waves. The 3 tons of fish each crewman worked days for were gone. The Dela Torres eventually heard of Junel’s planned exit from the whispers of their men. Stung by betrayal, Felix asked Fe to pull out their record book and send a handwritten tally of the captain’s debt. The paper bore no explanation, only a stack of numbers. At the bottom, shocking Junel’s wife Lani, was “P120,000.”
Junel and Felix found themselves bonding over the sight of the dilapidated boat. It was between laughter that Felix finally told Junel that he hired a new captain. Junel accepted his boss’ decision. Gem-Ver was Felix’s boat, after all. Feeling abandoned by his own men, he went rogue. Junel rented out Pengyou to the local government and invited only his most trusted men to form its crew: former Gem-Ver mechanic Boy Gordiones, the brothers Jomar and Jaypee Gordiones, and Bannie Condeza.Junel and his chosen men completed the work in a day. They ferried chairs and tables from mainland San Jose to the island barangay of Ilin, an hour-and-a-half away. They were back before the sun set.
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