I was on a cruise ship earlier this year, had its own system to make drinking water from the ocean... Royal Carribean Harmony of Seas... and it was operated by Phillipino workers... just like the rest of the ship...I cannot believe that the Philippine Coast Guard did not have reverse osmosis units available to desalinate sea water for drinking. At the very least they should have life boats with reverse osmosis (RO) units available for scavenging. Who would go to sea for an extended period of time without an RO unit or two?
Hard to imagine Phillipines military ships dont have ability to make its own water when a leisure cruise ship can do so