After delay, 32 Pinoys from quake-hit Haiti arrive home

After a delay of more than one hour, 32 repatriated Filipinos from quake-devastated Haiti arrived in Manila early Friday morning. In his report on radio dzBB, Manny Vargas said the latest batch included 14 children, two of them of a Filipino woman who is still considered missing 24 days after the killer quake. The repatriated Filipinos were initially scheduled to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 via Philippine Airlines PR-103 at 6 a.m. but arrived way past 7 a.m. Among those who arrived were two children of missing Filipino Geraldine Lalican. The two were aged three and seven. One of Lalican’s children, Gherwell, remained hopeful that her mother will still be found alive nearly a month after the magnitude-7 earthquake that hit Haiti. “I hope to just find my mom… and I hope that she can get out of that freaking building, and she can come back here," Gherwell Lalican said in an interview. However, the Haiti government ordered to stop search and recovery operations in the collapsed Caribbean Supermarket, where Lalican and another Filipina Grace Fabian remain were believed trapped during the quake. Philippine Ambassador to Cuba MacArthur Corsino made the announcement, adding that appeals to the Haitian government for the continuation of search operations were not heeded due to a “change in priorities," the report said. The Haitian government shifted its focus on the rehabilitation of the damaged infrastructure that has reduced the whole capital into rubble, including the Presidential Palace. Lalican's sister Sheryl also arrived with her seven-month-old daughter. Her cousin Rosemarie Paglumotan also arrived, with her eight-month-old daughter. On Thursday, a batch of eight Filipinos arrived home from Haiti. Last week, 23 Filipinos arrived from the quake-devastated country. [See: 8 repatriated Pinoys arrive from Haiti] Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration denied claims it is selective in repatriating Filipinos from Haiti. OWWA head Carmelita Dimzon said 70 Filipinos had wanted to return but some backed out at the last minute. - with Nikka Corsino/LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV