Saturday, June 28, 2008
Kin brave stench to find victims
By Elisabeth P. Baumgart & Katrina A. Balmaceda
Sun.Star Correspondents
RELATIVES of missing persons in the MV Princess of the Stars sinking braved the stench of decomposing flesh as they viewed 49 bodies which were brought to Cebu by Sulpicio Lines yesterday.
However, only the bodies of Juvelyin Requilme Jr., 16; Esmeralda Lequi-gan, 54; Julie Mendoza, 43; crewmember Ruel Lariba and PNP 7 Band member SPO3 Adolfo Villareal were identified by the anxious family members at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Junque-ra St., Cebu City yesterday.
Dr. Expedito Medalla, head of Department of Health 7’s Emergency Management Services, said that Lariba’s wife identified him through his ring, underwear and wallet.
Sources at the funeral parlor told reporters that Requilme was identified by her parents through the mole on her chest and Liquigan was identified by her sister-in-law through the scars of the Caesarean section she has undergone.
The brother of Mendoza, Noel Quirante, said that he was “80 percent†sure that the dead body he saw was that of his sister Julie.
“When I saw the body, I knew it was her,†he said in Bisaya.
But Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo said that National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) forensic team will only release the identified bodies after conducting forensic examinations.
Quirante, who was among those who participated in the viewing of the bodies, questioned the requirements.
“How do I comply with these things when all I have on my mind is my dead sister?†he lamented.
He added that it was inconceivable to comply with the requirements when he knew by heart that the dead body he looked at was indeed Julie.
The identification of the bodies started at around 10 a.m. or an hour after the bodies arrived via Sulpicio Lines Inc.’s MV Cebu Princess from Romblon.
Despite the overpowering smell, distraught family members lined up on the street in the hopes of finding their missing loved ones.
“Agwantahun namo ang baho, ang gusto lang namo kay makit-an ang patay (We will brave the stench. We only want to see the bodies),†said Michelle Lapas, 23. Lapas’ cousin Emeliza, 23, was among the ill-fated ship’s passengers.
The last time she heard from her cousin was last Sunday, when Emeliza sent a text message to the family, saying that she was feeling dizzy. She also said the vessel was slowly filling up with water, and it was about to tip over.
Lapas said they could easily identify her through the birthmark on her right cheek and on her neck.
However, the bodies have reached a “moderately advanced†stage of decomposition and the identification proved to be difficult.
The dead bodies were bloated and severely discolored due to bunker fuel, wounds and bruises.
After the families took turns in viewing the 49 corpses, they underwent a debriefing with Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama late yesterday afternoon.
They were ferried by a shuttle from Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes to the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (CFCCC) office.
The NBI team, led by Dr. Renato Bautista, chief of NBI Medico-Legal Division, was also there to explain identification processes to the crowd.
Bautista said that he expected disappointment among the relatives.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) volunteers handed out refreshments and alcohol, as the stench filled the room.
Bautista told the victims’ relatives that three parameters were covered in identifying disaster victims—fingerprints, organs and teeth.
This is why they needed valid documents, like an NBI clearance, Voter’s ID card, medical records. He also asked the relatives to list down the tattoos, body piercing, implants, moles and birth marks of their missing kin.
He emphasized, however, that documents may be presented for any of the parameters, but not necessarily all three.
Bautista added that the team may do DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing but that this will take a while. For this, only blood samples from the victim’s immediate family members are valid.
Asked about the bodies buried in Burias island, Bautista answered that NBI agents have already exhumed the bodies and are only waiting for cadaver bags and a ferry that will ship the bodies to Cebu.
Relatives said they will return to Cosmopolitan when more bodies arrive today.
The bodies that arrived yesterday included three children, 14 women and 32 men.
One was of a woman holding a child and the other one was of a man with arms outstretched.
Authorities have decided not to pursue the plan to hold the viewing of unidentified bodies at Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr. due to sanitation concerns.
Police Community Relations Division Chief Alexander Abadinas said the team headed by Rama decided to keep the bodies in the funeral parlor because the bodies were already in an advanced state of decomposition.
Abadinas admitted that they had already prepared for the viewing, including a detail of police officers to secure the area.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Ronald Roderos admitted that he also preferred if the unidentified bodies remained at the funeral parlor, which was better
equipped to store the bodies to keep them from further decomposing. However, he said they were ready to offer the camp for viewing at any time.
In the meantime, the PRO 7 has assigned police details at the funeral parlor and traffic personnel to make sure vehicles do not clog the area.
Also, a medical and dental team was assigned to the action center at the Cebu City Sports Complex to attend to needs of relatives waiting for news of the victims of the sunken ship.
Abadinas said some relatives who have been waiting at the action center for days could feel the stress of having to find out the status of the missing persons.
The teams will be at the police assistance centers that Roderos ordered them to put up.
Abadinas assured that the camp is still available if city officials decide to place the bodies there for viewing. (EPB/KAB/MEA/EOB)
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