Mass burial for sinking victims tomorrow

ABOUT 45 unclaimed bodies of victims of the sunken MV St. Thomas Aquinas will be laid to rest tomorrow morning in an apartment type niche at the Carreta Cemetery.

Bong Ebo of the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes said the remains will be buried across the burial site of the unclaimed victims of the sinking of Sulpicio Lines’ Princess of the Stars in Romblon on June 21, 2008.

Mayor Michael Rama yesterday ordered Ester Concha, Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) chief, to inspect the Carreta Cemetery today and make sure that everything is set for tomorrow’s mass burial.

Rama yesterday met with Concha, Ebo, 2Go officials and Coast Guard Commander Weniel Azcuna to discuss preparations for the mass burial.

Alvin Santillana said the unclaimed bodies will be transported from the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes to the Carreta Cemetery at dawn tomorrow. Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma will officiate the burial mass scheduled at 8 a.m.

Ebo said unclaimed remains of victims are tagged so they could be easily exhumed after they are identified through the DNA test results.

Azcuna also said the siphoning of oil from the sunken vessel that was suspended last Friday due to bad weather, resumed yesterday morning.

After its completion, the Coast Guard will meet with the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to assess if the vessel is already oil-free. /Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac