Bodies found in Samar yet to be identified

Samar map

The military clarified on Friday that they could not ascertain if communist rebel leaders, spouses Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, were among those who figured in a firefight with security forces in Samar on Monday, August 22.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines made the clarification after one more body was found floating off Buri Island, near Catbalogan City in Samar.

The military earlier said the body of a woman was found off the island on Tuesday, August 23. Another body, this time of a male, was found floating off another island in Tarangnan, Samar, on Thursday, August 25.

The bodies are believed to be among those onboard a boat that figured in a firefight with military forces on Monday.

The AFP said identifying the discovered bodies would take time as they could not secure DNA samples because no one has claimed the bodies. —JOHN ERIC MENDOZA