Sunday, June 30, 2008 Sulpicio spares families from long wait for P200T By Elisabeth P. Baumgart Sun.Star Correspondent With Katrina A. Balmaceda
TWO bodies were identified and released yesterday to their families, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirmed, two days after they were shipped to Cebu by Sulpicio Lines.
“We were able to identify one through dental records, and the second one through the fingerprint records. Fortunately, the wife had the fingerprint records,” said Dr. Wielfredo Tierra of the NBI.
Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama released their identities: mv Princess of the Stars crewmember Ruel Lariba, 38, and Butuan City native Leonardo Geraldizo, 40.
Wife Mary Jean claimed Lariba’s body. Apart from his dental records, his wedding band—engraved with the wedding date—also helped his wife and the NBI identify Lariba.
Geraldizo was identified through the Pag-ibig fingerprint records presented by his wife, Elemita. As with Lariba’s case, a wedding band also helped confirm his identity.
Meanwhile, Sulpicio Lines announced that relatives will no longer have to wait for a whole year before receiving insurance for their loss.
Whether the body has been found and identified or is still missing, the company has decided to waive the one-year waiting period, lawyer Manuel Espina said in a press conference yesterday.
The insurance will be given to immediate relatives of the passengers listed in the official manifest, provided they have complete documents, he added.
An assessment and processing center for claims was set up at the Cebu City Sports Complex yesterday, and claimants have begun processing their documents.
Upon Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo’s request, the National Statistics Office (NSO) will set up a booth at the center today to help process and authenticate the birth certificates of the victims. It will also authenticate marriage certificates.
The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) will also help out the relatives in securing affidavits of relationship and special power of attorney.
These are needed for the relatives to claim the P200,000 insurance given to the passengers of MV Princess of the Stars.
Review
The Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWD) Regional Field Office will review the documents before certifying to the eligibility of the claimants.
Sulpicio Lines will then process and issue the claims, even if the search for bodies has not yet finished.
Dr. Renato Bautista, chief of the NBI Medico-Legal Division, told the families yesterday that they have identified another victim but needed the original set of prints before they can release the remains to the family.
“They gave us a photocopy of the set of fingerprints. We told them that we need the original copy of fingerprints,” said Bautista.
Tierra said it was important that family members provide original documents “that can stand the scrutiny of the court.”
To get the NBI’s clearance and claim their relative’s body, a family has to submit an original set of fingerprints, a copy of the victim’s dental or medical records or a list of the victim’s special body markings.
Tierra said that one of the major difficulties encountered by the NBI was the lack of documents submitted by the nearest kin.
Claims
One of the victim’s relatives having problems with the documents was Noel Quirante. Quirante said that he only had his sister Julie Mendoza’s NBI clearance that held her fingerprints.
However, another family wants to claim the same body.
A family from Barangay Punta Princess, Cebu City has identified the body as that of their daughter Jovelyn Requilme, 16.
Quirante heard that the Requilme family identified the body through a birthmark on the chest.
A birthmark may be used a secondary parameter for the identification of a body.
However, Quirante said that a birthmark on a person’s chest was not substantial enough to allow the NBI to release the body to the other family. Quirante said he had no way of knowing if his sister had a birthmark on her chest.
A week after the families’ ordeal began, Bishop Julito Cortes commended the different government and non-government agencies for their quick response to the situation.
Support
Different government agencies and volunteer groups have been at the action center since last Tuesday, offering food, toiletries, counseling and advice to relatives looking for their lost loved ones.
“The different agencies are trying their best. It’s admirable, it’s amazing,” Cortes said.
He also called for unity in facing the tragedy as he celebrated mass with the victims’ relatives.
He began the mass by offering it for the victims of the tragedy and their relatives, as well as for Sulpicio Lines. The Archdiocese of Cebu also offered all masses yesterday for the same intentions.
Special collections were also called for in all the parishes yesterday for the victims of typhoon Frank all over Cebu.
In his homily, Cortes said he could not offer answers to the questions of those left behind, but he said that the church is there “to help alleviate the pain of the victims’ relatives.”
He also prayed for “enlightenment and strength” for the Sulpicio Lines management, saying that they are among those who are suffering in this tragedy. (EPB/With KAB)
