Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY - Ronnie Dabal needed a miracle to survive the cold and treacherous waters of Puerto Bay that fateful Monday, December 8.

Early in the morning while fishing for tuna in the choppy waters of Puerto Princesa Bay, a squall came upon him and turned his boat upside down.

After battling with punishing waves for the next 24 hours on top of a piece of styropor, Dabal survived the ordeal in the most astonishing manner -- being saved not by human beings but by dolphins and whales.

“Nagdasal na ako kasi nawawalan na ako ng lakas. Hindi na ako makalangoy at nawawalan na ako ng malay,” he narrated. (I began praying because I was losing my energy. I couldn’t continue paddling with my hands because I was getting so tired and was about to pass out.)

Floating at sea the entire day, trying in vain to get closer to land while swimming against the waves, Dabal said his arms and legs had gone pale and soggy. A swarm of tiny crustaceans, locally called “bugto,” had begun nibbling on his softened limbs.

“There were too many of them that I couldn’t cope because I was running out of energy. I was bleeding and started to fear that sharks could appear any time, drawn by the smell of my blood,” he said in the vernacular.

Dusk came as Dabal’s hopes started to vanish and a creeping darkness began to envelope him. From out of nowhere, a pod of around 30 dolphins and a pair of whales measuring about 10 meters in length came and started to flank him on both sides.

“Dumating yung mga dolphins. Ang dami nila. Tapos may lumapit na dalawang balyena. Dun sila sa tigkabilang tabi ko lumalangoy,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. (There were dolphins, lots of them. Then a pair of whales started swimming on both sides)

Dabal, 35 and father of two kids, swore it was not his mind playing tricks on him even as his energy was starting to fail him.

As he lay still on top of his piece of plastic board, Ronnie narrated how the dolphins would alternately nudge his tiny life raft using their pectoral fins towards the direction of land.

“Palit palitan sila tinutulak ako gamit ang kanilang palikpik,” (They would push me alternately using their fins). Meanwhile, he said the rest of the pod stayed close to him to around just a meter away apparently trying to make sure no harm would come to him from any other animal.

The pair of whales, described by a local cetacean specialist as possibly male pilot whales based on the description provided by Dabal, kept to his side swimming along with the dolphins.

“Based on his description of the animals, the dolphins were probably spinners and the whales were most likely pilot whales,” Dr. Terry Aquino told the Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.