Kin provide DNA samples of Pinay in MH17 tragedy

MANILA, Philippines - The sister and niece of the Filipina killed in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine have provided their DNA samples to Dutch authorities for identification of the victim’s remains, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Citing a report from the Philippine embassy in The Hague, Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the DNA samples of the sister and niece of Irene Pabellon-Gunawan in the Netherlands were provided to the authorities while dental records of the Filipina and her Indonesian husband, who also died in the crash, have been obtained.

Jose said the corresponding records of the children of the Gunawan couple, Sherryl Shania and Darryl Dwight, are still being located.

“Up to this time verification is still ongoing on the actual number of bodies recovered. The mission said that the identification process will commence immediately as medical records of the deceased and DNA samples from relatives are being obtained by Dutch and foreign police,” Jose said in a press briefing.

Dutch and international forensic teams will inform the relatives of the victims once the identity of a body is made for them to view and confirm the identity of the deceased relative.

“The ministry is initially working on a time frame of one month before the identities of all the bodies and body parts may be determined and the next of kin invited to view the remains of the deceased relative. Although the process may possibly take longer,” he added.

In a briefing by the Dutch Foreign Ministry on Monday attended by the Philippine embassy in The Hague, the ministry announced that the Dutch government declared July 23 as a National Day of Mourning.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, carrying 298 people from ten countries including three Filipinos, was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed last July 17 in eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border.

Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine allegedly shot down the plane.

The Philippines condemned the attack and urged the international community to come together to determine and hold fully accountable those responsible for the “unconscionable” assault on the civilian aircraft.

At 4 p.m. The Hague time, Dutch and Australian planes loaded with 60 caskets of the bodies of the crash victims would arrive at Eindhoven military airport from Ukraine.

A ceremony will be held at the airport for the arrival of the first batch of bodies of the crash victims.

Jose said the ceremony would be attended by Dutch King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans and other officials.

Ambassadors of countries involved, including the Philippines, and relatives of the crash victims have also been invited.

“The bodies of the deceased will be carried out of the aircraft by military pall bearers and placed in 60 designated vehicles. They will then proceed to the area where the bodies will be identified by a Dutch forensic team with the participation of foreign counterparts,” he said.

The embassy reported that there will be subsequent flights over the next three days bearing more crash victims bodies and there will be a ceremony for each arrival.

“Post has notified the sister of Irene Gunawan who also lives in the Netherlands. She indicated that she will attend the ceremony,” Jose said.

The embassy received a note from the Dutch Foreign Ministry saying that the Dutch Disaster Victim Identification team will be contacting counterparts in the Philippines.

The family of the Filipinos killed in the shooting down of the passenger plane met Monday morning with representatives of Malaysia Airlines to discuss the travel arrangement for their trip to the Netherlands.

The Filipina’s relatives from Pagbilao, Quezon also went to the DFA Office of Consular Affairs to apply for their travel documents.

The DFA is also assisting the family with their visa application for the Netherlands.

Malaysia Airlines offered to provide for the plane tickets and expenses of two relatives but the airline is considering the request to add two more.