Lost and Found

The case of the then missing teenager, Ica Policarpio caught my attention in the same manner when children of less influential parents captured my heart. Personally, I have this interest and intent to help those who are lost and those who are looking for their missing family. As a citizen, what I have been doing is either blogging about the missing person or re-posting through Facebook the family’s plea to find their missing family. So when I read last early Friday morning about Bea Policarpio’s plea to help in looking for her missing sister, I hit the share button and hoped for the best outcome.

Friday night, my friends and I discussed about the circumstances of Ica’s disappearance minutes after she stepped out of the coffee shop where she was said to have stayed from afternoon up to almost 11:00 PM. I told them that there was nothing really unusual about her disappearance because she looked like she did it on purpose. The give-away was when she left her laptop and cellphone inside her bag while she looked for an establishment to break her 1000-peso bill. You don’t just leave your valuables unattended; even grade schoolers are aware of that. Ica probably did that to avoid being traced. The plot thickened when the following day there were news about her argument with her father prior to her disappearance.

Whatever the reasons, I sincerely hoped and prayed that nothing bad would happen to this young lady. Netizens were very happy to know that she was finally found in San Pablo, Laguna on Sunday Morning. Thanks to the technology and thanks to the information of Archie, Danica, Yra and the tricycle driver—except for Danica and Yra who were together when they saw her, the rest of them saw her in different locations.

A press conference attended by her father, Atty. Penny Policarpio, was held on the same day. The netizens expected that her father would tell what really happened. Their excitement and joy turned into bashing and questioning when Ica’s family requested for privacy. This is not the first time that a family of a missing person who went public when asking for help and then turned very private as soon as they found their kin; but Ica’s case was sensationalized in many level so the public became invested with her story so they demanded to know what really happened. Some were saying that she was really kidnapped that was why the family was mum about it. Some were trying to connect it to the 48-hour challenge wherein participants deliberately run away from home and fake their disappearance for likes and hits on Facebook. Some were making assumptions about her psychological state. Some said that she was just as spoiled brat. Unless otherwise clarified by her family, I stick to my impression that Ica just ran away to probably breathe a fresh perspective about life. She was lost and she was found; I’m okay with that as a netizen and I don’t demand for further explanation from them.

I believe that in due time, the real cause about her disappearance will be revealed. It’s a waste of time to be trying to squeeze information from her family when there are missing people around that need our help and attention.

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Paranoid, Hoax or Traumatic Truth?

A certain Ralph Miranda appealed to Facebook users to inform him about the location of his girlfriend, a certain Cheanne Diaz, who was said to be riding on a UV express with a driver and two male passengers who were ignoring her pleas to pull off the vehicle.

The last time he saw Cheanne was 11:30 AM in Cabanatuan terminal. Travel time to Cubao would have been 3 hours so Cheanne most likely reached Cubao before 3:00 PM.  There were exchanges of chats between Ralph and Cheanne at around 6:50 PM so if she went straight to the UV express, she would have been travelling for another three hours now.

Ralph got a lot of bashing from the netizens later when he declared that Cheanne was safe and home. A lot doubted his story and some posers made the situation worse for the two. Some called him a paranoid boyfriend while others said that it was just a bad joke or a hoax!

While I was very much relieved to know that Cheanne was safe, there were some questions that need to be answered to set the records straight.

1. Was the UV express a colorum?
2. What time did she ride into the UV express?
3. Which part of the UV express was she seated?
4. If the driver and two passengers meant her harm, they could have gagged her and nobody would have known. But instead, she was able to chat with her boyfriend until the driver allegedly asked her to stop.
5. It took her three hours before she finally escaped. Was it because of the traffic situation or she was simply let go after a hold up?

I hope that there are CCTVs around the area so the perpetrators will be caught. No female deserves to be harassed!

Speculations On The Tania Camille Dee Murder Case

I am trying to look for updates regarding the murder (or is it parricide?) of bank teller Tania Camille Dee but it seems like there’s nothing new about the investigation that is why there are no fresh news about her.

The suspects are her ex-husband and his current live-in girlfriend, both are said to belong from affluent families. In the Enzo Pastor case, it’s easy to pinpoint his wife’s motive to let somebody gun him down because Dalia is the one who’s having an affair but in Tania Camille Dee’s case, it is the husband who’s living in with another woman.

The other motives could be:

1. Custody issue but it doesn’t look right because the ex-husband gave the liberty of raising their kids to Tania.

2. Insurance- the news said that the ex-husband’s family is well-off so money is probably not the motive in here.

3. New bf- jealousy? The news did not mention anything about Tania having a new boyfriend.

Whatever the motive is, the life of a young working mother ended in a tragic way. The biggest loser here are their kids if their father killed their mother, then their father could go to jail.

I hope that the kids are fine and are surrounded by loving family members in this time of grief.

Justice for Tania.

Gabay Sa Pagkuha Ng Urn sa Thai Airways Cargo

Mahirap ang mamatayan sa ibayong-dagat at nagpapadagdag ng hirap ng loob ang mga gastusing kaakibat ng pagkamatay gaya ng bayarin sa ospital at repatriation ng bangkay. Walang problema kung ang namatay ay miyembro ng OWWA o may employer bago namatay dahil sasagutin ng OWWA at employer ang mga gastusin pero kung ang kaso nyo ay parang kaso ng namayapa kong tiya, heto ang ginawa kong mga gabay para sa pagkuha o pag-claim ng urn.

Kung ang namatay ay walang aktibong trabaho at hindi rin aktibong miyembro ng OWWA, ang Philippine Embassy ang otomatikong may hurisdiksyon sa bangkay. Importante ang pasaporte ng namatay para ma-verify ang pagkakakilanlan nito. Ang mga gastusin ay dapat pag-usapan ng kamag-anak ng namatay at ng Philippine Embassy.

Magastos ang mag-repatriate ng bangkay at aabot ng 2 buwan o mahigit pa ang pag-uwi nito. Kung katulad namin kayo na bukas ang isipan sa cremation, ang cremation ang isang option kung gusto ninyong mapadali at mabawasan ang gastos ng pag-uwi ng bangkay. Syempre, kinakatawan ng artikulong ito ang mga normal na mamamayan na walang gaanong kakayahan na magbayad ng malaki.

Mula sa araw ng cremation hanggang araw ng pagpapadala ng urn sa bansang pinagmulan ng bangkay ay inaabot ng 10 working days. May mga permit kasi na kailangang lakarin.Sa mga panahong ito, importante ang madalas na komunikasyon sa Philippine Embassy. May mga representative silang naka-assign sa bawat kaso. Sa kaso ng aking tiya, si Atty. Chares Marie Elacion ang syang masigasig na kausap namin mula sa Philippine Embassy in Cambodia.

At dahil sa Cambodia dinatnan ng kamatayan ang aking tiya, sa Thai Airways ipinadala ang kanyang mga abo. Hintayin ang airway bill number ng cargo upang ma-track sa Thai Airways Cargo. Tatlong oras ang byahe mula Bangkok o Cambodia hanggang Pilipinas.

1. Alamin sa DHU (Document Handling Unit) ng Pair Cargo ng Thai Airways kung dumating na ang eruplanong nagsasakay sa urn. Ipakita ang airway bill number. Ang pag-aayos ng cargo ay kadalasang tumatagal ng hanggang 2 oras mula paglapag ng eruplano.
2. Kapag ready na ang dokumento sa DHU, ipa-photocopy ang mga ito. Safe na ang 4 na kopya.
3. Pumunta sa Customs Office malapit sa Terminal 1 para makakuha ng gate pass. Apat na kopya ng gate pass ang ibibigay. May babayarang halaga na nasa Php50.00. Fill-upan ang gate pass at pumunta sa Terminal 1.
4. Pumunta sa opisina na nagbibigay ng gate pass para makakuha ng pass papunta sa Customs Office sa Terminal 1. Kung may kasamang kukuha, ihanda ang PhP50.00 para sa kanya. Mag-iwan ng ID. Wag kalimutang balikan.
5. Pumunta sa airport ng Terminal 1 at dumiretso sa Customs Office sa dulo. Ipasa ang mga dokumento para matatakan. Magbabayad ng PhP200.00 dito.
6. Kung wala pang 5PM, pipirmahan ang gate pass ng Customs Officer na naroroon sa may Pair Cargo sa Ninoy Aquino Avenue.
7. Ipa-photocopy ang pirmadong gate pass sa 1st floor ng building at dumiretso sa warehouse na nasa likod ng building. Maraming sasalubong na fixer. Nasa sa inyo na kung papatulong kayo. Nagpatulong kami! Hahahaha!
8. Ipasa ang gate pass sa warehouse custodian at hintayin ang cargo. Tignan kung tamang cargo ang naibigay sa inyo.

Yolanda Victims To Relocate In Bataan

I found a good blog (http://bataan-prpc.blogspot.com/) about the Bataan Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Morong, Bataan in my effort to get to know about this project that was funded by the UN. I’ve never been to the BPRPC and I regret not being given the chance to go there before it closed in the 90’s.

There’s a suggestion to relocate the Yolanda victims to the BPRPC while the government is busy with rebuilding the affected parts of Leyte like Tanauan, Palo and Tacloban. Personally, I have no problem with that; if my province was able to accommodate foreign nationals in BPRCP, then it is more logical and moral to do the same with our kababayan.

The mayor of Hermosa, Mr. Danny Malana, expressed his intention to welcome the Yolanda victims as soon as the PNP gives their nod to lend the still uninhabited housing community there.

We are talking about an interim solution here. The real challenge that the government and the Yolanda victims must face is how to rebuild that part of Leyte. Architect Palafox guested on a morning show last week discussing about what kind of building and house design is suitable for coastal areas. What about the livelihood of the people? I heard from the news that the government will stop its relief operations by December. Isn’t it too soon? I hope I just got it wrong. I have no problem with stopping the relief operations as SOON as the people are financially, physically and emotionally capable.