Thirty-one bodies of missing fishermen on board Cadiz City-based fishing vessels hit by typhoon Frank have been found, with 87 others still missing, Cadiz Vice Mayor Samson Mirhan said yesterday.

He said, as of yesterday, 28 bodies of Cadiz fishermen had been retrieved with three more expected last night. The three bodies were identified to be those of M/V Sweet Angel crew members Edgardo Escaro, Ponciano Bachoco and Danimar Baulita, he said.

He said of the 17 bodies that arrived in Cadiz City on Saturday five could not be identified and were buried in the Caduhaan Cemetery because the stench was very bad.

“There was one body that was being claimed by two families as theirs so I told them to file complaints before the police or the court,” he said.

Mirhan said the management of M/V Alaska 8 has not given the Cadiz government the list of the passengers on board its vessel, and the names of the casualties. The list is needed for families to claim government assistance, he said, adding that he will discuss the matter with the F/B Alaska 8 management.

The vice mayor has also asked the Provincial Social Welfare Office and the Provincial Disaster Management Team to help get in touch with officials from Masbate, Romblon and Cebu for information on bodies recovered “so we can determine if those found were among the fishermen from Negros Occidental.”

The search for the Cadiz fishermen will continue today, more than a week after their fishing vessels were hit by typhoon Frank on June 21.

The Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Negros Occidental headed by Jet Lee provided 72 sacks of rice, 20 boxes of sardines, 100 boxes of instant boodles, two boxes of clothing, five boxes of slippers, eight boxes of cookies to the typhoon victims and their kin in Cadiz City yesterday, Mirhan said,

Mirhan said relatives of the missing fishermen continue to wait for any information on the whereabouts of their loved ones.*CPG

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