4th Pinoy fatality in Haiti found; missing down to 2

CARMELA LAPEÑA, GMANews.TV
01/21/2010 | 09:09 AM

(Updated 1:30 p.m.) The body of yet another Filipino UN peacekeeper was recovered from the rubble of a collapsed building in Haiti, bringing to four the number of Filipinos confirmed killed in the deadly earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation last week.

Haiti peacekeeping forces commander Col. Lope Dagoy identified the casualty as Sgt. Janice Arocena, whose body was retrieved from the ruins of Christopher Hotel in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday afternoon, Manila time.

"Meron tayong bad news. Kahapon nang hapon natagpuan na po ang bangkay ni Sgt. Janice Arocena," Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. told GMA News' Unang Balita on Thursday. The victim's family was immediately informed, he said.

On January 15, two days after the magnitude-7 earthquake rocked Haiti, Arocena's older sibling posted a plea for help on CNN's iReport.

Arocena was a clerk at the Chief of Staff, Central Registry of the Philippine peacekeeping contingent in Haiti.

Two still missing

At the time of the killer quake, 462 recorded Filipinos were in Haiti — 290 civilians and 172 military and police peacekeepers.

Brawner said the Philippine military is teaming up with the Department of Foreign Affairs in addressing the needs of Filipinos there, including providing for their security.

Last Wednesday, the military confirmed the retrieval of the remains of of Sgt. Eustacio Bermudez, a clerk at the Conduct and Discipline Unit/Force Provo Martial. [See: Another Pinoy peacekeeper's body pulled from Haiti rubble]

Earlier, the military also confirmed the deaths of Jerome Yap, a United Nations staff member serving with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, and Petty Officer 3 Pearly Panangui.

Only two Filipinos are unaccounted for — Grace Fabian and Geraldine Lalican, who remain trapped in the ruins of a supermarket in Haiti's capital.

"Dalawa na lang ang hinahanap, mga OFW na nagtratrabaho sa Caribbean Supermarket (Only two are missing. They are Filipinos working at the Caribbean Supermarket)," Brawner said.

Filipino troops continue to help

Brawner said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo that the remaining members of the 10th Philippine peacekeeping contingent in Haiti are "no longer directly involved in the rescue and retrieval operations" at the Christopher Hotel.

The AFP spokesman said "expert rescue teams" from Spain, China, France, Iceland, the United States, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Brazil have taken charge of such operations.

Instead, the Philippine team is tasked to transport retrieved bodies from the Christopher Hotel to the logistics base and the Argentina hospital, Brawner said, adding that Filipino troops also helped secure vital UN installations such as the UN Development Programme compound against looters.

"The headquarters of the 10th Philippine contingent to Haiti continues to serve as trauma clinic for rescued victims," he added. — LBG/RSJ/NPA, GMANew.TV

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