Sunday, June 29, 2008 For families, it's a grim way to face the facts By Katrina A. Balmaceda Sun.Star Correspondent
THOUGH the two-day viewing of bodies from the mv Princess of the Stars yielded very few results, victims’ relatives will still be given a chance to view at least one hundred more bodies that are expected to arrive.
Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, who serves as the city action officer, said relatives of the sunken vessel’s passengers may return in batches to Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes on Junquera St. to see if their loved ones are among the additional bodies.
He observed, though, that the deformation of the bodies made viewing them almost useless.
The last batch of relatives, who finished the viewing late yesterday afternoon, agreed that the bodies they saw were already indistinguishable.
But when Carillo asked them if they would still view the additional bodies, they gave a resounding “yes.”
Carillo repeatedly assured the relatives that the best way to identify the bodies was to present the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with documents that could identify the victims.
He also asked relatives to present documents that would verify their identities and establish their relation with the victim.
He said that because the passengers of the Sulpicio Lines-owned mv Princess of the Stars were insured for P200,000, extra care is being taken so that only the real immediate family members of the victims will receive the money.
“Di malikayan nga dagha’g mangingilad, dagha’g oportunista (We can’t escape the fact that there are fakes and opportunists),” Carillo explained.
At noon yesterday, Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama arrived at the Cebu City Sports Complex to check how many relatives had yet to take a look at the bodies.
Some tried to join yesterday’s group, even though they had already viewed the bodies last Friday.
Rey Anthony Javier was one of those who wanted to take a second look. He said he was looking for his son, Renz Anthony and his wife, Jennifer.
Rey showed Sun.Star Cebu a picture of Renz and Jennifer. In the picture, Renz wore a black beaded anklet. According to Rey, Renz had worn the same anklet when he rode the boat.
However, because he was too dazed by the sight and stench of the corpses last Friday, he failed to check the ankles of the three children whose bodies were at Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes.
He wanted to check again because Renz might have been among the three.
Rudolfo Yasi was dismayed not to find his cousin, Evangeline Alcantara, among the bodies. He could not be sure, however, because the faces were already beyond recognition.
The body of his niece, Archelle Alvarico, had already been found in Camarines Sur last June 23. Yasi showed Sun.Star Cebu a plastic bag filled with Alvarico’s voter’s ID, PhilHealth ID, boat ticket and a prayer book. These had been found stuffed beneath her clothes.
The family has already sent someone to attend to Alvarico’s body, he said. But for Alcantara’s body, they will wait even until the last batch of bodies arrives.
He also showed a video that he had taken on his digital camera the day the ship left the port. In it were Alcantara and Alvarico, carrying bags and a pail of biscuits. They smiled at the camera and happily waved goodbye. (KAB)
