Remains exhumed in Pangasinan not those of 2 missing UP coeds

The remains of an unidentified woman exhumed by forensic experts in the municipal cemetery of Labrador in Pangasinan last March do not belong to either of missing University of Philippines (UP) students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno.

Citing the preliminary report issued by the Department of Pathology of the UP College of Medicine, the Desaparecidos, an organization of families seeking justice for their disappeared loved ones, said experts found dissimilarities in the dental features of the exhumed body and those of Sherlyn’s and Karen’s.

Both Sherlyn and Karen have been missing since June 26, 2006 after soldiers allegedly abducted them in Hagonoy, Bulacan reportedly for being activists.

“This initial result gave me hope that we can still find my daughter alive,” said Sherlyn’s mother Erlinda.

“But we cannot be in complete celebration because we know that a mother, perhaps, is also looking for the body of the dead woman,” she said.

The unidentified woman’s remains were exhumed in response to the request of Mrs. Cadapan, who initially sought the assistance of human rights group Karapatan after receiving reports about the burnt body of a woman found in a vacant lot in Barangay Bolo in Labrador town months before.

Karapatan, in turn, wrote the Commission on Human Rights to request for forensic experts to accompany them to Labrador town for the exhumation. The CHR, for its part, sought the help of the University of the Philippines.

Despite the initial finding, the Desaparecidos said forensic experts would further examine the exhumed remains to determine the woman’s identity.

Yesterday, Mrs. Cadapan attended the Court of Appeals hearing on the petition for writs of amparo and habeas corpus, which she and Karen’s mother filed.

The petitioners have already presented witnesses, including two brothers who escaped from alleged military detention.

One of the brothers testified that Sherlyn told him in a military camp where he was kept that soldiers had abused her.

“We believe that people will help us find our daughters alive. We also pray that our government would realize and find it in their conscience to surface Sherlyn and Karen, and others who were forced to disappear just because of their political ideals,” Mrs. Cadapan said.

To date, according to Karapatan, the number of victims of alleged forced disappearances under the Arroyo administration has reached 193.

The military has repeatedly denied any hand in the disappearances of activists across the country.