Families and friends of the deceased soldiers who died in the C-130 crash in Jolo, Sulu, on Sunday mourn.
In an instant, the soldiers’ dream vanished, much to the chagrin of their families.
Some of them also requested that, if possible, the processing of the corpses of their relatives be speeded up.
Even before the C-130 Hercules plane left the airport in Cagayan de Oro, Army Private Archie Barba made a video call to his family in Panabo City, Davao del Norte.
Ever since he was separated from his family to take part in 7 months of training in the Philippine Army, Barba often calls his family.
But the family failed to receive another call from Barba on Sunday. Instead, what they received was depressing news.
“Sobrang sakit na bigla siyang nawala,” said his mother, Marilyn Barba.
Also among those who died was 1st Lt. Karl Hintay, who is also from Panabo City.
He completed a BS Biology course at UP Mindanao before entering the Philippine Military Academy.
Some families of the soldiers are now demanding that the processing of their corpses be speeded up.
The family of Private 1st Class Alzid Hawrani, one of the passengers of the C-130, is tired of waiting for information.
Families of the victims of C-130 crash mourn
In the Islamic religion, it is part of their tradition to bury the dead immediately within a day.
According to the soldier’s father, 3 days after the tragedy, they are still unsure what has happened to him.
They accepted if he was among the dead, but they only asked the authorities to speed up the processing of the corpses.
In Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte, Private Roejader Colata’s family is worried because they still haven’t been able to talk to him.
But unlike Hawrani’s family, the family already knew he had survived the C-130 crash.
Colata’s parents now hope to allow them to visit their son in the hospital wherever he is taken.
Meanwhile, one of the soldiers killed in the C-130 crash tested positive for COVID-19.
At first, Cristopher Rollon was just one of the wounded who was taken to the hospital in Zamboanga City but later passed away.
At the family’s request, they were allowed to take Rollon’s body home to Pitogo, Zamboanga del Sur.
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