MV Princess of the Stars. FILE PHOTO
LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—How long does it take to get over the loss of a loved one?
To Levy Samuele, a 40-year-old salon owner in Manila, it is not when but how one can do it.
“When an old love song is played on the radio … suddenly all the memories come back,” Samuele said. “I guess you have to listen to it again and again and get used to it.”
His niece, Jacqueline Rhoz Padua, and her father, Roy (Samuele’s cousin), were killed along with more than 800 passengers and crew of the Princess of the Stars. Jacqueline was 3 years old when the Cebu-bound ferry sank at the height of Typhoon “Frank” on June 21, 2008, off Sibuyan Island in San Fernando town, Romblon province.
After the tragedy, Samuele gave away Jacqueline’s toys if only to ease the pain caused by the death of the child he had raised as his own.
“But now I have decided to keep a picture of her in the house. I can look at her every time and feel better thinking she’s just around,”he said.
Mothers’ tears
Samuele recalled that it was on Oct. 27, 2008, when Jacqueline’s remains were recovered. “Jacqueline was clutching a child, but her head was missing,”he said.
The family believed the body was that of Jacqueline, but it took them a year and forensic tests before the remains were released to them. Samuele submitted the remains to the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) as evidence in the case.
“I think most of the families have moved on by now,” said Samuele, who is spokesperson for the victims’ families. “But in times like this, when we (victims’ relatives) get together, the pain comes back. You see it in the tears of mothers who lost their children,” he said.
But for Estela Laurel, 37, of Imus town, Cavite province, there is no getting used to the loss of a loved one. “Ayan, naiiyak na naman ako (There, I am crying again),” she said in a phone interview on Thursday. “The longer it takes, the harder it gets. I still long for them.”
Laurel lost both her parents and five siblings in the ship accident. She is still looking for the remains of her two siblings, Jonil and Jackie, who were 17 and 7 at that time.
Trapped
The figures vary as to how many went missing, but PO1 Arman Leonida, who heads the Philippine Coast Guard team assigned to assist the PAO in the retrieval operations, believes hundreds are still trapped inside the wreck.
“The navigational deck, as well as the first and second decks, haven’t been opened yet,” Leonida said.
In 2011, the original private salvor, Royal Jessan, sliced the ship horizontally and pulled away the hull of the capsized boat. The project was later sold to Hi-cap Metal Trading, which now leads the salvaging of the remaining half of the ship.
Private and government divers were not always lucky to retrieve any item or human remains.
“It gets shallower because the mud is piling up under water … the water also gets murkier and darker down there,”Leonida said.
Case moving forward
A case of breach of contract has been filed against Phil Span Asia Carrier Corp. (the former name of the Sulpicio Lines) in a court in Manila, for claimants in Luzon, and in a court in Cebu, for the families in Visayas and Mindanao. The company has also been charged criminally for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide in another court in Manila, according to PAO chief Persida Acosta.
According to Samuele, pursuing a case against the shipping line gives the families as well as those of victims of other sea tragedies something to hold on to.
“We hope to get a conviction by next year,” he said.
He said his family planned to bury Jacqueline by then, “whether they find her head or not.”
“At least something has come out of our fight and finally, she could rest,”he added.