MACO, Davao de Oro (MindaNews. 11 February) — Ten minutes before 10 a.m. on Sunday, Julius Sandolan, 36, mustered what’s left of his strength to go to the reception area of the Incident Command Post and ask in Cebuano: “Asa mangayo ug death certificate?” (Where can I get a death certificate?)
Days after staring into what used to be their bakery, Julius received word that the remains of his eldest son had finally been found. But his wife and two other children are still missing.
“I dreamt of her last night,” Julius told MindaNews in Cebuano, five days after the landslide. “I could not see her face but I knew it was her.”
He said he spent sleepless nights hoping his family was fine under the landslide debris.
Last Saturday, rescuers found the lifeless body of his eldest son, Sandrex Sandolan, 9, along with an older woman around the same age as Julius’s wife Merenesa, 43.
Sandrex was easier to identify, but it was tricky to confirm the woman’s identity.
To help recognize her, rescuers and other staff described the woman’s hands as manicured. “She doesn’t do that,” Julius said, certain.
The hands belonged to Aming, the 40-year-old wife of his baker, Edwin, 50, who is also among the missing as they were all in the bakery during the tragedy.
Julius’ wife, Merenesa, 7-year od son John Leo and four-year old daughter, Princess Jilliane, remain missing as of Sunday.
His youngest, an infant, is safe elsewhere, he said.
For Julius, looking away from the landslide meant he would no longer be able to help rescuers look for where his bakery ended up. Julius spent days without sleep and was interviewed by media in one of the trips to Ground Zero.
In one viral footage, Julius was interviewed standing on the landslide debris, reliving the moment vividly.
When the tragedy struck, Julius rushed towards his bakery and screamed to get his family’s attention.
He recalled he would have been swept by the powerful rockslide that was thunderously making its way down towards Purok 1 in Masara had it not been for a friend who pulled him away towards safety.
Julius said he was able to track where the bakery ended up.
For perspective, there are a few landmarks at the Masara landslide to help outsiders visualize the incident. A search on Google Map of the Masara Barangay Hall will lead users of the app to a satellite view of Zone 1.
Zoom in closer, and one is bound to find six blue buses from a bird’s eye view.
Across those buses, the first known casualties of the landslide, are one of the roofs of the bakery in the huts along the mountain.
Julius excused himself just as he was about to identify on a map the location of his home. He was led to a table where he would consolidate the proof of identity of his relatives.
According to announcements from the Municipal Government of Maco, relatives may approach the person in charge of the Management of the Dead and the Missing (MDM) at the Incident Command Post for information on missing loved ones.
The process allows relatives to coordinate a blotter for missing persons, through a process called the Ante-Mortem Data Collection.
This would formalize the missing person’s current situation, which is also the basis for each day’s update announcement on the Masara landslide’s dead, injured, and buried.
After the relative goes through the ante-mortem data collection, the relative is advised to wait for the result of the post mortem examination, based on data given by relatives.
Investigators rely on proof of identification from the loved ones, through official documents, and a knowledge of the victim’s identity, distinguishing marks, clothes, and other identity markers such as photos, identification cards, fingerprints, dental records, among others.
The process allows loved ones to process death certificates which are needed for documentation, to avail of government’s financial assistance, or to claim insurance. (Yas D. Ocampo / MindaNews)
