Kin grieve as 6 bodies retrieved off Sarangani town
DAVAO CITY—Distressed family members of victims from the ill-fated motorbanca Amejara started arriving at St. Peter’s Funeral House here, where the five bodies found floating near the waters off Maitum, Sarangani, arrived past 9 a.m. on Sunday.
As of 4:56 p.m., the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported that another body was already aboard the BRP Panglao en route to Balut Island for airlifting to Tactical Operations Group (TOG) 11 in Davao City. The sixth body was found at 1:04 p.m. in the waters southwest of Buca Point in Maasim, Sarangani.
This brought the total number of recovered bodies from the distressed boat to six, with only one survivor so far and nine others still missing.
Christopher Bulig, the lone survivor who was rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) three days earlier, reportedly said that everyone was still alive when he decided to separate from them by swimming to shore.
Cha Labrador, medical officer of the National Bureau of Investigation, said that among the first five body bags that arrived, the faces were no longer recognizable and DNA sampling would have to be done to confirm their identities.
Identifying marks
The NBI has requested two reference DNA samples from each victim’s family members for testing to identify the recovered bodies.
Labrador said they would also have to rely on secondary parameters provided by the families to help identify the victims.
“If some of them know that their loved ones had tattoos or other identifying marks, it would greatly help in identifying the bodies,” she said as she emerged from the morgue past lunchtime after hours of examination.
Labrador added: “We will have to rely on secondary parameters, such as the clothes they were wearing, tattoos and scars. If ever we find tattoos and the family’s report matches descriptions, we can immediately call them to double-check.”
The reference samples from the families and those taken from the bodies will be sent to the NBI laboratory in Metro Manila for identification, she added.
Families who arrived at St. Peter’s Funeral House remained in shock and declined to speak to reporters.
Others complained to Ednar Dayanghirang, regional director of the OCD, about the circulation of photos on social media, saying that these aggravated the pain and trauma caused by the tragedy.
It was only on Saturday—the sixth day of the search and rescue operations—that four bodies floating at sea were sighted by owners of Salazar fishing vessels, who immediately informed the Coast Guard, according to Lt. Jason Lavadia, commander of the search and rescue operations led by the PCG.
He said four bodies were found near each other, about 100 kilometers (60.2 nautical miles) south of Maguling Point in Maitum, Sarangani, prompting them to immediately inform BRP Ricarte, which was stationed nearby.
The four bodies were already aboard the BRP Ricarte by 2:07 p.m. on Saturday and were headed for Balut Island for airlifting to TOG 11 in Davao City, when another body was found by BRP Tagbanua, 125.9 kilometers (68 nautical miles) southwest of Kiamba, Sarangani.
The bodies were received by the local government past 11 p.m. on Saturday, then airlifted to Davao City at 7:49 a.m. on Sunday, arriving at TOG 11 before 9 a.m.
Commodore Phillipps Soria, commander of the Coast Guard Southeastern Mindanao, said the Coast Guard focused its search and rescue operations on Sunday in Sector 4, where the four bodies were found, but would move farther north on Monday to widen the search area.
Not losing hope
Soria said they were not losing hope that more survivors would be found.
“We have long experience at the Coast Guard, and we are not losing hope. We’ve had many experiences where the human spirit’s will to survive is very strong,” he said.
Soria also expressed his belief that the missing passengers were still within the Philippine area of responsibility, as the PCG continued its search efforts in Sectors 3 and 4 off Maitum, Sarangani province.
“We are not losing hope that we will find survivors. Although we have recovered five bodies, we are not giving up. We are still hopeful. We’ve seen time and again that the human spirit to survive is very strong. We believe they are still there, still with us,” he said. “We will continue our search and rescue operations as long as practicable.”
At around 8 p.m. on Jan. 17, the motorbanca Amejara departed from Sta. Ana Wharf bound for Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental, for a recreational trip.
At 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 19, the Coast Guard Station in Davao received a call from the wife of one of the passengers reporting that the vessel was in distress, prompting the start of search and rescue operations.
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