71 OFWs to head home from Haiti Tuesday; 3 peacekeepers’ bodies due this week

An initial batch of 71 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) based in earthquake-ravaged Haiti will take a long commercial flight home this coming Tuesday, Philippine authorities said on Monday. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. also said the remains of three Filipino peacekeepers who died in the quake will be sent home Tuesday or Wednesday. "Sila [OFWs] aalis ng Dominican Republic nganyong Tuesday, January 26, via a commercial flight (They will pass through the Dominican Republic. They are scheduled to take a commercial flight on Tuesday)," Brawner said in an interview on dwIZ radio. But he said the flight may be a long one as it will go through Dominican Republic and through Miami and Los Angeles before heading for Manila. On the other hand, Brawner said they expect the bodies of the three peacekeepers to arrive either Tuesday or Wednesday, adding that the families of the victims have already been informed about the schedule of arrival. The three, Navy Data Processor 3 Pearly Panangui, Army Sgt. Eustacio Bermudez, and Air Force Sgt. Janice Arocena, were all members of the 10th Philippine peacekeeping contingent to Haiti. "Inaayos ng AFP ang pagpunta sa mga kamag-anak sa Metro Manila para salubungan ang mga labi ng kanilang mga mahal sa buhay (The AFP is working to bring the families of the deceased to Metro Manila to welcome the remains of their loved ones)," he said. The Department of Foreign Affairs is now making arrangements with the families of the 71 returning OFWs, he added. In an interview last week, Brawner said that the remains of the three will arrive in Manila to a hero’s welcome. He also said that overseas workers Grace Fabian and Geraldine Lalican were still unaccounted for, and that search efforts were still ongoing. The two were last known to be at the collapsed Caribbean Supermarket. - LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV