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Sunday, September 21, 2008
Salvage operations of sunken ferry to start
CEBU CITY -- To mark the third month since the sinking of M/V Princess of the Stars, the Cebu City Government will hold a mass in honor of the victims.
Salvage operations may start on Monday, if the weather permits, with the arrival of a large barge that can retrieve the toxic chemicals from the vessel, ABS-CBN reported on its website.
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Fishing remains banned within a five-kilometer radius of the Stars, but the pesticide cargo is still intact and has not leaked, said Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Undersecretary for Maritime Affairs Ma. Elena Bautista in the same report.
The vessel sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon last June 21, exactly three months ago Sunday. The ship, with about 800 passengers and crew aboard, had sailed into the path of typhoon Frank. The mass will be held at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes.
Over 500 bodies are believed still trapped inside the vessel.
But the disaster victim identification (DVI) team said in a press conference last Friday that the identification of victims through DNA testing has surpassed "even the best projections."
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and foreign experts of the International Police (Interpol) compose the DVI team.
While they set a target of identifying 10 bodies each week last August, the team has already identified 122 bodies through DNA testing, said Nimal Mahagamage, Interpol incident response team leader.
Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama commended the team's efforts, calling it a "splendid impact."
"The participation of the local government unit (LGU) is very important. The LGU is always there, and, of course, the spirit of barangayan and bayanihan," he told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.
NBI-DVI team leader Dr. Renato Bautista confirmed last Friday that he will leave for St. Petersburg, where he will talk about how the NBI-DVI team here dealt with typhoon Frank.
The DVI process will also be discussed and included in the manuals of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC), said RDCC chairman and Police Regional Office (PRO)-Central Visayas Director Ronald Roderos.
"They (RDCC) now have a facility and access to this process, which is authentic, fast and reliable," Roderos said during Friday's press conference.
The Interpol, meanwhile, reiterated their pronouncement to stay until there are bodies that have yet to be retrieved from the Stars.
"We renew our promise to stay until a sense of closure is brought to the families," Mahagame also said last Friday.
"As we have agreed, there is no stopping until the last person will be processed for purposes of (DNA) matching," Rama said in a press statement. (KAB/Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (September 21, 2008 issue)
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