August 11, 2022 – A Filipino fisherman was found in Gorontalo after being lost at sea. The exact location is Teluk Tomini, Tolinggula District, North Gorontalo. The foreigner from the Philippines’ name is Guillen, he has been lost in the open sea for 11 days.
The Filipino fisherman was first found by citizens around Tolinggula District. At that time, they saw a ship that does not usually see in that place. Local fishermen attempt to get closer to the foreign ship that they just say. Alas, they saw the foreigner asking for help because his ship had run out of fuel.
Despite there being difficulty in communication, Fishermen of North Gorontalo understood what the Filipino fisherman is trying to say. Eventually, Guillen’s ship is dragged towards the Tolinggula beach.
Next, the local fishermen reported the events that had happened to the local government. After the local government received the information, they reported the incident to the Gorontalo police and immigration.
Head of the Gorontalo Immigration Office Class I TPI Joni Rumagit has confirmed that currently, the Filipino man is checked by the Air and Water Police (Polairud) and the North Gorontalo Regional Government.
Additionally, Polairud currently has his health condition examined by the North Gorontalo district government, which in this case the Health Service.
According to Rumagit, the Filipino fisherman was found in the waters of Gorontalo which is directly adjacent to the Central Sulawesi (Sulteng).
“Obviously, we will continue to coordinate with the foreigner surveillance team (Timpora). The team from the immigration will be there tomorrow,” he said.
If Gorontalo Immigration got word from Timpora that he is indeed a foreigner, then the Filipino fisherman will be brought to the Gorontalo Immigration office for further detail.
“If there’s any data that supported that he is from the Philippines, the next step we’ll take is to coordinate with the Philippines consulate in Manado,” Rumagit said.