BY NATASHYA GUTIERREZ
POSTED
ON 01/02/2014 4:46 PM | UPDATED 01/02/2014 5:11 PM
MORE. Hundred more bodies are left unburied
almost 2 months after Yolanda. File photo by Jake Verzosa
MANILA, Philippines –
Almost two months since Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) hit Central Visayas, the
Palace says the Philippine government is working on speeding up the burial of 1,400 bodies.
On Thursday, January
2, Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said the Department of Health (DOH),
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) are "working closely" with the Tacloban City
government to organize the burial, as reported by rehabilitation czar Panfilo
Lacson.
"DOH has sent
1,500 body bags and protective kits for personnel doing the work; DPWH has sent
additional backhoes and payloaders; and the NBI has redeployed its forensic
team on the ground," Coloma said.
While he called the
burial "urgent and important," he said the delay is caused by the
procedure for identification.
"If you remember,
when the participation of the NBI started, they say they would follow the
protocol of the Interpol," he said.
But Coloma said they
have asked the NBI if they could make the identification process more
efficient.(READ: How to handle corpses during
disasters)
"That's what
we've agreed on. There's inter-agency coordination, the facilities have been
provided and they are focused on speeding up the burial process giving due
respect to the remains of those who perished in the calamity," he said.
Coloma however gave
assurance the government is focused on the burial, and that it has provided the
necessary manpower to complete the task.
The council's
spokesman, Reynaldo Balido, said he was unsure if the official death toll
already included the unburied cadavers, which currently lie in the farming
village of San Isidro.
Yolanda killed 6,111
people and left 1,779 others missing on November 8, according to the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
This made the storm,
which also left 4.4 million people homeless, one of the deadliest natural
disasters in Philippine history. - Rappler.com
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