Crime lab takes DNA samples from victims

CEBU, Philippines - The PNP Crime Laboratory 7 has taken deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples from over 60 fatalities of the recent sea tragedy  and these will be sent to Camp Crame for profiling.

PNP Crime Laboratory chief Nestor Sator said the profile of the fatalities is needed for future reference, especially now that immediate families are starting to claim the bodies.

Sator said even in tragedies, unscrupulous people are out to dupe others and may pretend to be the victim’s kin just to claim the cash assistance from 2GO Group Inc., the shipping company that owned the ill-fated MV Saint Thomas Aquinas.

As of press time, seven bodies were already released from the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes on Junquera St. that were claimed by their relatives.

They families were made to present necessary proofs such as birth certificate, marriage contract, and identification cards, among others, before they can take the remains out.

Sator said they will take DNA samples from all fatalities including those that are yet to be retrieved from the sunken vessel before bringing them collectively to Camp Crame in Metro Manila.

The profile may be made available in a month, he aded.

Sator said they took muscle tissues from each body and femur tissues or thigh bone from those bodies that are already beyond recognition.

They also took dental swab samples and finger prints from the immediate kin.

“Some of the bodies have decomposed and were contaminated. Bacteria have their own DNA so we will take samples from the bone of the victims,” Sator explained.

Sator also revealed that based on the autopsy, bruises were found on some of the fatalities, which indicate that they struggled to get out of the vessel.

“Naa’y abrasions ang uban. Siguro nag-ilogay sila sa pultahan, nangaluya og nalumos,” Sator theorized.

There were close to 900 passengers including crew onboard MV St. Thomas Aquinas when it sank off Lawis Ledge in Talisay City last Friday night after accidentally colliding with a cargo vessel of the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp., formerly Sulpicio Lines.

As of 3 p.m. yesterday, 71 bodies have been retrieved, 45 of them have already been identified. — (FREEMAN)