Mobile  Morgue for ‘Stars’ fatalities arriving

A mobile morgue is expected to arrive in Cebu City this week where forensic experts will continue with their work to identify the victims in the sinking of the Princess of the Stars.

Authorities said the equipment, which was supposed to arrive last Thursday, is still in transit until now because of some reasons that caused the delay.

Dr. Renato Bautista, head of the team of forensic experts who are attending to the dead bodies, said there is no problem on the delay of the mobile morgue, and that they are still preparing the Cebu International Port for its arrival.

He said that his team will remain in Cebu until the work is finished and until all the bodies are retrieved from the sunken ship or until the ship is refloated.

The National Bureau of Investigation and the Interpol are expecting more than 500 bodies to be taken out from the ship and brought to Cebu.

So far, 1,924 blood samples for DNA testing have already been taken from the projected 3,000 samples that would be taken from the fatalities and their relatives.

Of the number, 400 blood samples were earlier sent to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and an additional 300 were shipped along with 212 femur bone samples from the victims yesterday.

Vice Mayor Micael Rama said the families who want to process their compensation claims from Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) are advised to go to the SLI’s terminal at the Pier 5 of the Cebu City port.

Assistant SLI vice-president Ryan Go and his brother Grant Go said the company will continue to process the claims of the families during office hours from Monday to Friday.

Sulpicio has released more than 400 quit claims to families since early this month. The firm’s management will pay P200,000 in compensation to the families of the victims whether they have been recovered or remained missing.

The families can also get financial assistance from the government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) offices in Cebu City and Cebu province.

The DSWD is giving P10,000 financial assistance to each of the survivors and the families of the fatalities through the PGMA cash assistance.  — Jasmin R. Uy/WAB