Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Mobile morgue a no-show at port; agencies bare preparation plans
THOUGH preparations at the forensic site are well underway, the mobile morgue will not arrive today.
After what was supposed to be a final inspection of the forensic site yesterday prior to the arrival of the mobile morgue, officials discovered that the morgue will arrive on Friday instead.
Supt. Anthony Obenza, chief of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime-Visayas field office, explained there were no vessels available today to transport the mobile morgue.
Vessels were fully booked, thus delaying the arrival of the morgue at the Cebu International Port (CIP).
Obenza said they are expecting the morgue to arrive on Friday, hoping that the vessel will be on its way to Cebu by Thursday.
Also, while officials have asked for the implementation of Presidential Memorandum Order (PMO) 36 to waive importation taxes on the morgue, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales has asked to have “some words” changed in the letter of request in order for it to fit the requirements of law.
However, that was accomplished days before and definitely did not cause the delay of the arrival, clarified Obenza.
Through PMO 36, the Office of the President can issue the necessary clearances for the importation and will serve as basis for the Bureau of Customs to process all papers and release the imported items.
Yesterday, the disaster victim identification (DVI) team visited the forensic site at the CIP to inspect preparations for the arrival of the mobile morgue.
At the site, construction of a shower shed is underway, while installation of the shelves inside the refrigerated container vans has been completed.
As the mobile morgue was expected to arrive today, agencies concerned made all the necessary preparations.
Ready
“We will be assisting in the installation of the morgue,” said engineer Norman del Mar of Cebu City’s Department of Public Services.
The City Government, as earlier promised, will be providing assistance in the handling and proper disposal of wastewater and garbage, as well as in setting up the site.
The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also prepared its plans for wastewater disposal.
“We will initially contain the wastewater. It will then undergo water analysis in order for us to identify where we can properly dispose of the water depending on the results of the analysis,” said Fatima Omoso of EMB 7.
However, with the delay of the arrival of the mobile morgue, the agencies may have to wait a few days more. (EPB)
