CAMP CRAME, Quezon City — The Philippine National Police (PNP) Forensic Group has successfully identified 50 out of the 71 human remains retrieved from the M/V June Aster, which caught fire off Coron, Palawan early last month.
PNP Forensic Group Director Police Brig. Gen. Pierre Paul Carpio reported that the 21 unidentified bodies consist of adult men and women, alongside one child.
Carpio assured the public that forensic investigators are not encountering obstacles in matching samples, as they have gathered complete ante-mortem records for comparison. However, he noted that the process requires careful laboratory protocols.
“For everyone to know DNA is a sterile area so we have only this capacity for us to be able to conduct the DNA. After every case we clean all the laboratories for decontamination and sterility of the laboratory,” Carpio explained.
The M/V June Aster was en route to Palawan from Manila when a blaze broke out roughly 1.2 nautical miles off the coast of Coron. Official tallies place the disaster’s death toll at 77, with 43 survivors and eight individuals remaining missing.
Of the total fatalities, 71 bodies were recovered directly from the charred vessel, five were retrieved from the surrounding waters, and one victim died while receiving medical treatment at a hospital.
Carpio expressed confidence that the PNP team remains on track to finish identifying all remaining victims. Once completed, the official identification results will be turned over to the Palawan provincial government to notify the victims’ families.