Relatives confused over Embassy report; want autopsy of her body

The relatives of 27-year-old Cebuana, who died in Greece last June 24, said they would ask the government to autopsy the body amid confusion over the real cause of her death, especially after a Philippine Embassy official reported she died in a sea accident.

"Tinuod makalibog gyud kaayo kun unsay tinuod," Laura Gabisan, sister of Claudine, said. "Hinaot nga naa nay police report gikan nila kay nagduda gyud nga naa nahitabo kang Claudine," she said.

A one-page initial report of Eleanor Jaucian, charge d' Affaires of the Philippine Embassy in Greece, said that Etstathlos Valkanas told the Embassy that his wife, Claudine Gabisan Valkanas, died when a yacht hit their sailboat some two kilometers off the coast of Glyfada in Athens.

Jaucian said they will send a follow up report to the regional office of Department of Foreign Affairs in Central Visayas.

The Valkanas couple had been residing in the island of Samos and the reports said they were sailing towards Salamina when the accident reportedly occurred.

Claudine and her husband Etstathlos were at sea when their sailboat collided with an English-flagged high-speed yacht, said the Jaucian report but the same document quoted the Glyfada Port Authority that there was no mention "that Mrs. Valkanas was killed in the accident."

The report of Glyfaca port authorities to the Embassy stated that the high-speed yacht, Clats, crashed into the Valkanas couple's sailboat, Sea-Bird, causing the latter to shatter and sink immediately.

The report also said the passengers of Clats were able to find and rescue Mr. Valkanas "but not his wife."

A Super Puma helicopter and four coastguard boats were sent to the scene to locate Mrs. Valkanas (Claudine) but only the parts of the boat were retrieved, said the report.

Mr. Valkanas and Clats ship captain Styliano Kolonos were then taken to the hospital for blood and alcohol tests. Kolonos was later arrested and was charged at the District Attorney but the report said that Claudine was no longer found.

The Jaucian report further said, "Mr. Valkanas confirmed that the yacht which hit his sailboat was on autopilot mode, crashing into their sailboat, tearing it to pieces. He also informed me that his wife was killed instantly as he saw her body parts in the water after the collision."

It also reported that Mr. Valkanas had informed his in-laws in Cebu about the accident and Claudine's untimely demise.

However Laura denied Mr. Valkanas did so, saying the family here only got the information from a close friend of Claudine. "Sukad ma sukad wa gyud na siya (Mr. Valkanas) makatawag namo diri," Laura said.

Etstathlos Valkanas and Claudine Gabisan were pen pals before the got married in church in the Philippines on June 26, 2000. They have two children, little Sofia and Hercules. - Ramil V. Ayuman