27 recovered cadavers buried in Marawi City

Twenty-seven cadavers retrieved by security forces from the Main Battle Area were buried in Marawi City last Tuesday (September 5).

The remains, believed to be civilians declared missing since fighting erupted, were transported by personnel of the Lanao del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office aboard seven military vehicles from Capin Funeral Homes in Iligan City to Maqbarah in Marawi City, where they will be laid to rest.

Soldiers of the Joint Task Group Ranao under Brigadier General Ramiro Rey facilitated the transport of the remains to the area at 7am of the same day.

Present were the local government unit of Marawi City; the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of Marawi City; the PDRRMO Lanao del Sur; and the Scene of the Crime Operative.

"The remains will undergo the process of ‘Dingdinghali,’ a tradition observed by Muslim in burying the dead with pieces of bamboo and in citing a prayer for more than seven to 10 minutes,” said Nasser Alonto Maniri of the Prv’l Maqbarah Cemetery.

The owner of the Capin Funeral Homes said, "After retrieval, the remains were brought to the funeral homes and were made to undergo the embalming procedure in accordance with the Muslim rite. 

We have to wait for the advice of the SOCO criminal laboratory and the results of the autopsy and the DNA tests. 

The remains will then be buried upon advice of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and the Department of Interior and Local Government,” said Danilo Capin of the Capin Funeral Homes.

Capin added that the remains were not claimed or identified by the next of kin.

"We appeal to the public, especially those who have relatives and kins that are still missing, to approach the Provincial Crisis Management Committee or the Missing Person Center in Iligan City and submit swab samples for the ante mortem procedure," said Assemblyman Zia Alonto Adiong, the spokesperson of the Provincial Crisis Management Committee.

"Others who may have difficulty reaching the office of the Provincial Crisis Management at the Provincial Capitol or the MPC of SOCO in Iligan City may contact the International Committee of the Red Cross to report the identity of their missing relatives," he added.

Troops also retrieved skeletal remains in Barangay Lilod Madaya at 7:30am Monday (September 4).

Said remains were turned over to the Scene of the Crime Operatives and the BFP. 

They were subsequently brought to Capin Funeral Homes in Iligan City and transported by the troops in Marawi City for the burial.

Said skeletal remains, however, were not yet buried today pending the identification process.

"We pay our highest respect to the souls of those who were laid to rest," said Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command.

We will continue to pursue the identification of these remains and support the process of the concerned and authorized offices and units."

"We hope that soon, the families will be able to identify and find their loved ones and family members."

Representing Brigadier General Bautista is Col onelJose Maria Cuerpo, the deputy commander of the Joint Task Group Haribon, and Lieutenant Colonel Jason Jumawan, the battalion commander of the 82nd infantry Battalion.

The burial is the second of its kind since the siege in Marawi started last May. The first one was last July, which was also facilitated by the Marawi City DRRMO and the Lanao del Sur PDRRMO.