Apartment-type burial eyed for unnamed bodies

CEBU, Philippines - Representatives from 2GO group and Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes are proposing for an apartment-type burial for the remaining unidentified fatalities of the ill-fated MV Saint Thomas Aquinas.

This was raised yesterday during the regular command conference at the Cebu city hall presided by Acting Mayor Edgardo Labella.

 â€œWe are in constant communication with 2GO and have agreed to erect a transitory to permanent resting place for unidentified casualties in memoriam for this incident,” said Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes manager Engr. Bong Ebo, who discussed the matter with Supercat Manager Engr. Boy Mundo, the representative 2GO management during yesterday’s command conference.

Ebo said the company is willing to finance for the construction of the edifice following a thorough discussion with Mayor Michael Rama upon his return from Taiwan.

The apartment type burial is initially estimated to occupy two meters by six meters of space.

Ebo explained that even with the bodies laid to their temporary resting place, proper identifying marks and secondary identifying evidences would still be put together.

“Despite being unidentified, we have secured death certificates for them specifying the case number which is assigned by PNP Crime Lab to each casualty. Once identified following series of principal and secondary identifying tests, necessary corrections will be done as to the names of the fatality,” Ebo said.

Vice Mayor Labella said he strongly supports the notion of 2GO and Cosmopolitan given Philippine customs and tradition of laying to rest departed souls as a sign of respect.

“Also, it is unsanitary not to bury these bodies which are already in decomposition state. It could be harmful to our health considering it carries air-borne bacteria,” Labella said,   adding that he does not advise for cremation of the unidentified bodies, in the hope that they would be identified in the future.

Out of 115 bodies retrieved, 45 remain unidentified as of yesterday while 70 have been identified. Of the latter, five remain under the custody of Cosmopolitan while all the rest have been released to their respective families.

Further, one survivor remains confined at Chong Hua hospital and is still recovering from a dislocated right shoulder and broken clavicle.

Meanwhile, while retrieval operations were temporarily suspended by Philippine Coast Guard to give way to the siphoning operations, the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Central Command, assured that they will still extend all means to retrieve the missing passenger and crew members.

Major General Roy Deveraturda, Commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Central Command, said they are not closing possibilities that there are still bodies trapped inside the vessel.

“Pinipilit nating maghanap kasi sa ganitong operation wala tayong deadline but somewhere along the way we have to decide na itigil ang isang activity na may futile attempt at kung i-siphon o i-salvage ang vessel maaaring may makita pa,” Deveraturda explained. —(FREEMAN)