Pinoy whose wife, daughter died in crash offered help

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine embassy in Jakarta has offered assistance to the Filipino national whose wife and daughter were among the 162 people on board AirAsia flight QZ8501, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday.

Singapore-based Alejandro Santiago confirmed to the embassy that his Indonesian wife Romlah Siti and their daughter Jasmine Rose Ann Santiago were among the passengers of the Airbus A320-200 aircraft, which went missing while on its way from Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday.

Authorities confirmed the plane had crashed in the Java Sea after debris from the aircraft surfaced two days after its disappearance.

Only eight bodies and some debris from the airplane have so far been recovered.

“The embassy offered him their assistance but he has no request for assistance at the moment,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said in a text message Wednesday night.

“Our embassy in Jakarta was able to talk to Mr. Santiago, who is already in Surabaya. He confirmed that his Indonesian wife and daughter were on the flight, but he is still hopeful that they are still alive,” he said.

According to Jose, Santiago also confirmed that his daughter was not registered as a Filipino or a bearer of Philippine passport.