3 RP troops remain trapped

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  – The mother of a Filipina peacekeeping officer trapped with two others in the United Nations building in earthquake-ravaged Haiti hopes her daughter and her comrades come home alive.

Manuela Panagui, widowed mother of Philippine Navy Data Processing-3 (DP3) officer Perlie Panagui, said she was shocked when she learned that her daughter was among the Filipino peacekeepers trapped in the Christopher Hotel, headquarters of the UN Stabilization Mission, in Port-au-Prince.

“When I got the shocking news, I didn’t know what to do. We prayed and hoped that my daughter and her companions are all alive... I love my daughter very much and I know they are alive,” she said.

Aside from Panagui, the two others still trapped in the building are Sgt. Janice Arocena of the Philippine Air Force and Sgt. Eustaquio Bermudez of the Philippine Army.

Panagui came from Barangay Divisoria in this city, the eldest of four children and the family’s breadwinner since her father, a retired police officer, died two years ago.

Before joining the Philippine contingent in Haiti, she was assigned to the headquarters of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM).

She is among the 155 soldiers dispatched to the troubled Caribbean country in August to complete a six-month tour of duty in the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah).

Also included in the contingent are two military observers and 15 police officers. The contingent is expected to come home next month.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said Panagui, Arocena, and Bermudez were working overtime at the second floor of the building when a magnitude 7 earthquake rocked the Haitian capital.

Panagui is a clerk at the office of the UN Force Commander. Arocena is assigned as a clerk in the office of the chief of staff of UN Central Registry, while Bermudez is a clerk at the office of the UN Conduct and Discipline Unit.

As of press time, they are still considered missing.

“We are hoping that they are still live. As of now, they are still missing,” Brawner said.

Peacekeeper dug up from another collapsed hotel

Brawner said a Filipino peacekeeping officer initially reported missing was recovered from the wreckage of the Montana Hotel.

Citing reports reaching the AFP Peacekeeping Operations Center at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, Brawner said Army Corporal David Catacutan was rescued around 11:30 a.m. yesterday from the basement of the collapsed hotel.

During the earthquake, Catacutan was on VIP security duty at the basement of the hotel. He was able to send his location to his fellow Filipino peacekeepers through text message before communication lines were cut. 

“Before all communications bogged down, he was able to relay his location and our forces recovered him,” Brawner said.

He said Catacutan sustained only minor injuries.

Individuals, dignitaries still trapped in Christopher Hotel

The commander of the Philippine contingent, Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy, said aside from the three soldiers, a number of persons are still trapped in the building, among them UN head of mission to Haiti Hedi Annabi.

The UN said some 100 staff work in the building.

In his report to the AFP, Dagoy said Annabi was having a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Haiti at the fourth floor of the UN headquarters when the earthquake struck.

One of Annabi’s deputies, Luiz Carlos da Costa from Brazil, might also be trapped in the building.

“Hon. Annabi is likewise also still trapped at the 4th floor of Christopher Building. He was reportedly meeting with the Chinese ambassador in his office,” Dagoy said in his report to AFP peacekeeping operations.

He also reported that a peacekeeper identified as S/Sgt. Bonifacio Pait sustained trunk injuries but is now recovering at the Philippine Contingent headquarters at Italian House, Rue Theodule, Port-au-Prince.

He said the Philippine contingent headquarters is now used as an emergency and alternate command post of the entire peacekeeping force in Haiti under the command of the Chilean Force commander.

“The complex serves as the casualty collection point of UN International and staff which number about 90 at the moment, five of whom have been confirmed dead,” Dagoy said in his report.

Other Pinoy peacekeepers alive

The Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN in New York yesterday confirmed to UN headquarters that all other Filipino peacekeepers in Haiti, except for the three still trapped, are alive and safe.

Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Hilario Davide met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and expressed the Philippine government’s condolences over the tragedy that left a number of UN staff still unaccounted for.

Davide also met and condoled with Haiti Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Leo Merores.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has also confirmed that all Filipino police officers drafted to the peacekeeping operations in Haiti are alive.

PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said the police contingent have joined search and rescue operations of the individuals trapped in Christopher Hotel.

The members of the PNP contingent were identified as contingent commander Senior Supt. Rodolfo Fuentes, Sr. Supt. Eduardo Garado, Superintendents Eduardo Tuazon, Luisito de Chavez, and Charles Vincent Tancinco; Sr. Inspector Criswell Tablac, SPO2 Angelito Avila, SPO2 Ma. Jesusa Pajarillo, PO3 Wilfredo Salino, Chief Inspector Angelie Cablinan, Supt. Arthur Felix Asis, Chief Inspector Michael Batoctoy, Sr. Inspector Manny Siniguian, Sr. Inspector John Clark, and SPO1 Luduvico Rendaje.

Espina said the PNP contingent are now housed at the UN Logistics Base near the Port-au-Prince International Airport.

Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti safe

The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN also confirmed that Apostolic Nuncio in Haiti Monsignor Bernardito Auza from Talibon, Bohol is alive.

In a statement, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the 50 year-old archbishop is “alive and well.”

“The Vatican has received information Archbishop Auza is alive and well (as are) the people working with him although there was great destruction in the country and there were many people who died,” said Fr. John Brillantes, Assistant Secretary to the Papal Nuncio.

The Nunciature in Haiti was affected by the earthquake, but was not seriously damaged.

Three other Filipinos serving as Apostolic Nuncios or Papal Envoys in other countries are: Archbishop Oswaldo Padilla, 67, in South Korea; his younger brother Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla, 56, in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands; and Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, 61, in Karachi, Pakistan.

However, Archbishop Serge Miot serving in Port-au-Prince perished.

Miot’s body was found in the rubble of the archbishop’s office together with hundreds of seminarians and priests buried in the wreckage.

Consular dispatch to Haiti prepared

Malacañang has ordered Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to make sure that all necessary assistance will be extended to affected Filipinos in Haiti.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Philippine Ambassador to Havana Macarthur Corsino has been instructed to dispatch a relief team to Haiti as soon as possible.

The Philippine embassy in Havana said there are around 290 Filipinos working in Haiti, mostly in the garments, telecommunication and power generation businesses, most of them holding middle and upper management positions.

“The task force consisting of our very own peacekeepers is already on the ground assisting our Filipino kababayans in Haiti. Filipinos are helping each other there. Ambassador Corsino will coordinate with them and our Honorary Consulate in Port-au-Prince so we can provide immediate assistance and relief to the Filipinos in Haiti,” said DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos.

Corsino was also directed to prepare the repatriation of Filipinos who would want to come home.

The DFA advised families of Filipinos in Haiti to contact the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) at 834-4996 for information about their relatives working in Haiti.

Families of Filipino peacekeepers may contact the AFP Peacekeeping Operations Center. - With Jaime Laude, Mike Frialde, Pia Lee-Brago, Marvin Sy, Evelyn Macairan