Siquijor officials are continuing their search for a missing Chinese national, who was last seen going to the beach in San Juan town on December 5.

The missing tourist was identified through his passport and Philippine issued visa as Song Mingzi, 51, widower, from Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

Councilor Lyndon Jo of San Juan town in Siquijor, said that, based on his travel documents, Song arrived in Manila Nov. 14 and proceeded to Puerto Princesa. From there, he went back to Manila Nov. 19 to catch a flight for Kalibo and then flew to Cebu on Nov. 22. He proceeded to Camiguin Nov. 25, then Siargao on December 4, where he took a boat to Siquijor, and arrived in San Juan the same day.

Song, who was travelling alone, stayed at the Casa Miranda guest house in Barangay Solangon, San Juan, and paid in advance for a two-day stay.

Hotel staff said they saw him heading for the beach at around 5 p.m. of December 5, but thought that he had gone to explore the island, or transferred to another hotel, Jo said. Repeated calls to the hotel went unanswered. They finally decided to open Song’s room on Dec. 11 and found his passport, wallet and clothes intact.

Song was scheduled to fly back to China from Manila on a 7 p.m. Cebu Pacific flight December 11.

San Juan police posted photos of Song in public places around Siquijor and checked on passenger manifests of outbound boats, Police Officer 3 Flor Omandam said.

“We suspect he drowned in the sea,” Jo said.

Omandam said they could not make that announcement unless they find a body matching Song’s description.

On December 18, 2002, three Dutch tourists and two Filipino guides went missing during a boat trip from Siquijor to Apo Island.

The bodies of Marcel Wilderom, his brother Jacob, and Nicklass Bisschop, and their boatmen, were never recovered despite a search extending to as far as the Malaysian border to the south.*AP

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