Pinoy crewmen of Costa Concordia praised for heroism

While many of the Filipino crewmembers of Costa Concordia came home on Thursday with nothing but the clothes on their backs, one of them, Reyson Cartago, had with him a video showing the hospitality crew’s resilience and bayanihan amid the chaos in the tipping ship reportedly left by its captain.   The video footage—which Cartago shared with GMA News—showed fragments of the incident, including rows of passengers putting on life vests and a messy kitchen that seemed to be shaking in real time.   As he helped out, Cartago also videotaped his Filipino colleagues—mostly cooks, dishwashers, and waiters—as they ran around, searching every nook and cranny to make sure that nobody was left behind the ship.   Some of the poignant moments in the video include a Filipino cook running to the altar and making a sign of the cross, two Filipinos helping a limping colleague walk, and Filipinos letting the foreign passengers get out of the ship first.   One can also overhear bits like a Filipino consoling a female passenger who was afraid of jumping off the ship. He said: “If something happens, it’s my responsibility, so I hope you understand. You’re going to have to, Madame.”   Panic was evident in the middle of the video, where a Filipino could be heard yelling at a colleague: “Kailangan na natin ibaba, lalo tayong tumatagilid! Lalo tayong sasabit ‘pag lalong tumagilid ‘to!”   By the end of the footage, calm was evident in the dark, where Cartago spoke: “Awa ng Diyos, naka-separate na kami sa mother ship, Concordia.”   For the sake of duty   In an interview with GMA News reporter Sareema Refran, Cartago said: “Basta [para] sa amin, ginampanan po namin ‘yung alam naming magagampanan namin.”   Another Filipino crewmember, Rogelio Barcita, said their team effort only made him prouder of being a Filipino.   “Sa dami dami po, Pilipino ang una pong nagkapagligtas sa mga pasahero, so talagang hindi ko po ikahihiya na Pilipino po ako,” he told GMA News.   Barcita made it back to the Philippines in his kitchen uniform. He had two items with him: a wooden rosary, which he wore around his neck, and a teddy bear—his pasalubong to his two-year-old daughter.   He tearfully handed his humble gift to his child, who—given her age—still seemed confused about the emotional air at the airport’s welcoming area. “Ang regalo ko po sa kaniya ‘yung buhay ko, wala na pong iba,” he said.   ‘To the end’   Following the incident, some of the Costa Concordia’s foreign passengers shared their experience to the media, highlighting the Filipino crew’s effort to make sure they made it out safe.   In a statement on Tuesday, the Magsaysay Maritime Corporation—which deployed majority of the 296 Filipinos—said it is “proud of our crew” after receiving the news about their “brave efforts.”    “A French passenger said, ‘Those who helped us were cooks and stewardesses, all Filipinos. They roped themselves together to help us get down to the lifeboats. We were able to get in at the last moment,’” the statement read. On Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) commended the Filipino crewmembers of "Costa Concordia" for their professionalism while the ship was in trouble.   DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario also reassured them of the Philippine government's continued support and assistance as they recover from their experience.   "You are men and women of courage, heroism and dedication. We commend you for showing to the world the best traits of the Filipino seafarers. In the words of President Benigno S. Aquino III, you are our 'sailing ambassadors,'" he said.   He said the Philippine Embassy in Rome received important feedback from other crewmembers as well as passengers of the Filipino crewmembers' "brave acts manifesting competence, professionalism and humanity, even under extreme pressure."   The DFA "recognizes and appreciates" all the assistance provided to them by the Philippine Embassy in Rome, the Filipino community in Italy, the local residents of Giglio Island, and the relevant Italian authorities, he added.   "We assure you of the Government's continued support and assistance, as you join your families, recover from your recent sad experience, and return to work at the earliest opportunity," he said.   Meanwhile, a Reuters report on Friday quoted Giglio Island parish priest Don Lorenzo Pasquotti, who said that “the passengers reached the church first and the crew later, proof that the ship’s staff, unlike the captain, had manned their posts to the end.”    Captain under fire   Barcita was apparently the Filipino cook quoted by the British newspaper The Daily Mirror, which reported that Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino “had a meal with a mystery brunette” and had “sipped drinks in the restaurant and had dessert almost 30 minutes after the collision.”    “Everything was falling apart, including our cooking. I willed myself not to get scared. I peered out and saw the captain was still waiting for his drink. I asked myself why he was still there waiting for his companion’s dessert with what was happening,” he said in the report.   Schettino is also currently under fire after Italian newspapers released the transcript of theaudio recording of his telephone conversation with coast guard official Gregorio Maria De Falco.   On Tuesday, a post on “The Lede” blog of the New York Times site said: “After initially reaching the captain of the ship by radio late Friday night, subsequent calls were unanswered and the Italian Coast Guard finally reached Mr. Schettino by telephone, apparently aboard a lifeboat alongside the stricken liner. He told them he had abandoned the ship, then immediately denied it.”    The transcript of exchanges in Italian, translated in English, showed that De Falco was telling the captain that there are already dead bodies.   When De Falco told the captain to check how many are dead, Schettino replied: "But you realize that it’s dark and here we see nothing…"   "Do you want to go home, Schettino? It’s dark and you want to go home? Go up on the bow of the ship on a rope ladder and tell me what you can do, how many people are there and what they need. Now!" De Falco ordered. The incident’s death toll went up to 11 on Tuesday, after rescue workers found five bodies in the submerged part of the Italian cruise liner, which carried around 3,000 passengers, Reuters reported.    The 52-year-old Schettino was placed under house arrest on Tuesday after being released from jail, the Mirror said, adding that under Italian law, a captain who abandons his ship before all crew and passengers are accounted for can be jailed for 12 years. - VVP, GMA News