Childrens were among the rescued travelling from General Santos to Iloilo.
Rescue operation start immediately assisted by fair weather and presence of other vessels in nearby area where the Ferry sinks.
The SuperFerry 9 were sinking and listing to the right at 0230 Sunday. Nearby ships rush to rescue after responding to the Mayday call. More than 900 were rescued and about 80 are still missing. Ferry were also carrying unlisted dangerious cargo on board like petrol and such.
Mora than 900 people are rescued from the sinking Ferry in Filipina.
Those rescued were transferred to 2 navy ships , 2 nearby civilian vessels and other similar ships who respond to the Mayday distress call.
The captain try to correct the list , but failed , and declared abandon ship to the distraught passengers
SuperFerry 9 start to list to right 0230 sunday.
Philippine authorities are continuing to search for about 30 people still missing after a ferry sank in the middle of the night.
Nine people died when the SuperFerry 9 listed then sank, but more than 900 were rescued from life rafts near the southern city of Zamboanga.
Officials are hopeful some passengers may still be drifting in life rafts.
The Philippine defence minister said the rescue had been helped by the presence of other vessels nearby.
The SuperFerry 9 began listing about 0203 local time on Sunday (1830 GMT Saturday) during its journey from General Santos to Iloilo, and all on board were ordered onto life rafts when it became apparent that the problem could not be fixed.
The coastguard, the navy, the air force and private boats in the area rushed to help.
The death toll could rise if reports of more fishing boats bringing in dead bodies proved accurate, officials said.
The Philippine air force and army have sent helicopters to help in the search for those still missing.
The cause of the sinking was unknown, but the weather was reported to be fair at the time of the incident.
The ferry ran into trouble about 530 miles (860km) south of the Philippine capital, Manila.
A spokesman for the ferry owner, Aboitiz Transport System, said the priority was to find survivors.
"The focus of the company now, in co-ordination with the authorities, is the rescue and the proper counting of the survivors," said Erden Ferrer.
"That is actually the primary objective we have at the moment."
He said the company was finding out what happened to the crew.
"The captain is alive. The captain is on board the Navy Ship 116, at the moment; that we have confirmed.
"And also, about the 113 crew, we're still verifying the number and the whereabouts of the crew."
The company earlier said that the crew were the last to leave the ship at 0842 local time, when the ferry finally sank.
PHILIPPINES' WORST FERRY DISASTERS
1987: More than 4,300 people die when the Dona Paz ferry collides with an oil tanker off Mindoro island - the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster.
2008: More than 800 people killed when the Princess of the Stars ferry capsizes during a typhoon
1988: Dona Paz's sister ship, Dona Marilyn, sinks off Leyte province, killing 250-300 people
1998: The Princess of the Orient ferry sinks near Batangas province, killing 150-200 people
1994: About 140 people die when a freighter hits the Cebu City ferry in Manila Bay
2004: A fire aboard the Superferry 14 kills 116 people near Manila Bay. Abu Sayyaf claims it
planted a bomb on board
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