Unknown casualties buried

White balloons and butterflies were released by relatives of the missing passengers of the ill-fated MV St Thomas Aquinas as the remains of the 46 unidentified casualties of the Aug. 16 sea tragedy were laid to rest yesterday at the Carreta Public Cemetery in Cebu City.

A total of 733 survived the collision between the St Thomas Aquinas and the MV Sulpicio Express Siete, a freighter owned by the Philippine Span Carriers Corp. in waters near Lauis Ledge in Talisay City. The Aquinas, which was en route to Cebu City from Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, was carrying 870 passengers and crew.

Divers retrieved 72 bodies from the Aquinas which sunk after colliding with the bulk carrier while 44 others were retrieved from other areas.

According to Luz Torevillas, 2GO passage manager, the bodies of the 70 identified passengers were transported to their respective hometowns.

A total of 21 passengers and crew remain unaccounted for, according to the coast guard.

The 46 bodies were transported from the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes to the cemetery Tuesday night and were placed in individual vaults near the burial site of the victims of the 2008 sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars.

Sulpicio Lines was renamed Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. following the sinking of the Princess of the Stars.

Labels were placed on each coffin for easy identification once the results of the DNA tests conducted by forensic experts from the PNP Crime Laboratory become available. The results are expected to be released within three months, officials said.

An official of 2GO shipping lines, the operator of the MV St Thomas Aquinas told Cebu Daily News that relatives of the casualties may opt to have the remains of their kin exhumed.

Some of the relatives of the 21 missing passengers who attended yesterday’s interment ceremony, together with city officials led by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Talisay City Mayor Johnny delos Reyes, coast guard, police and fire officials were ushered to tents set up by funeral coordinators from Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes and representatives of 2GO shortly before 8 a.m yesterday. Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III arrived after the ceremony ended.

There was no representative from the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, who presided over the Requiem Mass, comforted the grieving families and prayed that similar tragedies will not happen.

“Despite what happened, life is still worth living,” the prelate said in his homily.

Palma likewise read a message from Pope Francis, who said: “Always have faith in God and there will always be a better tomorrow.”

Bishop Joy Bendoy of the God’s Sufficient Grace Ministry, likewise addressed the ceremony.

“God has reason and purpose for allowing (the accident) to happen .. so that we can understand that we don’t own our life,” he said.

Bendoy likewise likened the grieving families to the biblical character Job who experienced great difficulties in life – losing all his children.

“Your life depends on how you live your life with Christ,” he said.

Boy Mundo, general manager of 2GO’s Cebu offices, expressed the management’s condolences to the families who lost their loved ones during the accident and thanked the different agencies and government offices and officials who helped during and after the crisis.

“The incident showed the beauty and strength of the Filipino spirit of bayanihan, volunteerism and willingness to help. We salute the Filipino spirit,” Mundo said.

After the speeches, Palma blessed the burial site. White balloons and butterflies were released as the song “I will be here” played in the background.

Terminated

Cmdr. Weniel Azcuna, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard Cebu Station, said the retrieval of bodies and the siphoning of oil from the sunken Aquinas has been terminated.

“Last Tuesday at around 11:30 am, we approved the recommendation of the Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. and the Nippon Salvage to terminate the siphoning operation,” he said.

A total of 6,880 liters of oil were recovered from ship. The management of 2GO earlier said that the ship was carrying 120,000 liters of bunker fuel, as well as 40,000 liters of diesel oil and lubricants.

He said the salvagers were instructed to clear the area to pave the way for the reopening of the sea lane to vessel traffic.

“Atong ipatang-tang tanang hazards to navigation for example the mooring lines, sinker lines, guide lines nga gigamit sa mga divers, so tangtangon ni silang tanan para ma-clear ang atong area for passing vessels,” Azcuna said.

(We told them to remove all hazards to navigation for example the mooring lines, sinker lines and guide lines used by the divers so that the area will be clear for passing vessels)

The PCG will continue to strictly enforce the 5-8 knots channel speed limit for vessels entering the Cebu City port.