Surviving passengers of the ill-fated M/V St. Thomas Aquinas each received an initial financial assistance worth P5,000, 2GO President Jun Tagud said Saturday. Tagud said initial reports coming from the ship's captain, crew and passengers showed that their passenger vessel was hit by cargo ship Sulpicio Express 7, leaving a gaping hole on the vessel and causing it to take in water in less than 30 minutes. Tagud said the shipping line welcomes a probe on the incident. -- Dateline Philippines, ANC, August 17, 2013