The death toll on the sunken RORO vessel Maharlika II has now risen to 8.
Authorities are expecting that there will be more casualties in the tragedy.
This is because the number of passengers listed does not tally with the number of passengers rescued as well as the number of passengers missing.
The Coast Guard said that overloading was not the reason why the vessel sank, adding that it has the capacity to carry 405.
Search and rescue operations are still ongoing.