Ringing phones, no answer

MANILA, Philippines - The mobile phones were ringing, but there was no one to take the calls.

At the scene of a horrific accident yesterday, a policewoman pondered if she should answer the phones.

No amount of training can adequately prepare members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the grim task of informing relatives of victims of a tragedy that their loved ones have died.

Senior Police Officer 2 Isidra Dumlao, traffic investigator of the PNP’s Highway Patrol Group (HPG) assigned at the Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX), dreads the task. But she had to break the bad news when she had to answer at least four cell phones recovered from where a Don Mariano Transit bus that veered from the Skyway fell and crashed onto a passing van.

“They were calling their relatives to check if they were all right. I had to tell them to come to our office to verify the identity of their relative or to proceed to the morgue. It was very sad,” said Dumlao.

She said several cell phones were recovered from the crash site, but some were damaged or the cell phone batteries drained, possibly because these had been incessantly ringing.

Dumlao said there was no way to identify many of the fatalities because their belongings could not be found and were possibly looted.