THE court order to exhume the bodies of 38 victims of the sinking of the mv Princess of the Stars surprised and upset Cebu City Acting Mayor Michael Rama, who accused the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) of grandstanding.

That as an Interpol official expressed dismay over the statements issued by PAO Chief Persida Acosta that DNA testing is not reliable.

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Rama said he will ask the office of Press Secretary Cerge Remonde to look into the sudden involvement of the PAO.

Although the City will not take any legal action to stop the exhumation, the acting mayor said they will also not spend to dig up the remains and will not help them with the task.

He warned that the doubts raised by PAO on the identification of the bodies by the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) team of the International Police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) could strain the diplomatic relations between the Philippine Government and the Interpol.

“That is why I called the office of Secretary Remonde, for them to look into this. If all these statements will reach Interpol, which I think are uncalled for, it will bring the Interpol’s integrity under suspicion, because PAO made a statement as if the DNA testing is not reliable,” said Rama.

In a press statement issued to media outlets, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
expressed their disappointment over reports that relatives of still-missing victims of the Princess of the Stars tragedy are disputing their efforts to identify victims.

Ronald Noble, Interpol secretary general, said he was dismayed with Acosta for “falsely suggesting” that DNA identification is unreliable.

Technology “…when in fact, reliable scientific evidence and in the experience of Interpol, the ICMP and police worldwide consider it one of the most effective means of identification. It is obvious that (PAO) Chief (Persida) Acosta is greatly misinformed about how victims can be identified using state-of-the-art DNA technology and procedures…,” said Noble.

Noble also urged public officials and commentators to ensure that they are fully informed to avoid making any statements that are not scientifically supported.

In his news conference yesterday, Rama also reminded the PAO to be mindful of the millions of pesos spent by the Interpol for supplies and equipment used to identify the bodies, as well as the experts who provided their services for free.

Rama said that if the PAO wanted to get involved, it should have asked to do so when the bodies had not been buried yet.

Last Monday, the court granted the request for exhumation of the 38 unidentified bodies buried at the Carreta cemetery last June 21, which was made by the victims’ families.

Rama criticized Acosta for grandstanding and for insisting that ship captain Florencio Marimon Sr. is still alive when the DVI team already identified him as one of those who died, through the DNA test.

Cooperation

“I don’t understand what they want to accomplish, that’s why it can be easily perceived that somebody is nagpahero-hero... I didn’t even know there was a court procedure being undertaken. It caught everybody by surprise. We were not informed in writing,” he said.

He said the PAO’s action and statements insult the Interpol, which could cause diplomatic differences, and hinder cooperation in the event that a similar disaster occurs in the future.

Rama also told reporters that the City Health Department will be monitoring any health and environmental risk that the exhumation of bodies may pose.

“Since the court allowed it, maybe they have the resources to do it but don’t let them come to the City Government because I don’t think we’ll give them a good reception.

They ought to know what to do technically and scientifically, but don’t let them come to my office because I’m not ready to face them with a smile,” he added.