The Philippine Army’s 5th Infantry Division (5ID) on Friday announced that two families have received the remains of relatives killed in an August 4 armed encounter in Abra, as a human rights group alleged that the turnover was delayed for hours and marred by harassment and bureaucratic obstacles.
In a statement, the 5ID said the families of Enrique Dayandante and Eugene Hilaus accepted the remains following coordination with the Philippine National Police, the Commission on Human Rights, and other concerned agencies in Bangued town.
Documents posted by the 5ID along with its statement showed that the remains were formally turned over to the families at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Army said the bodies were transferred to the Saint Peter Funeral Homes. It says the remains of a third fatality, Jony Escobilla, are still at Saint Michael Funeral Homes. Authorities are coordinating with his family for the transport of his remains to Mindanao, with the military assisting in the repatriation.
The three were among those killed during an Aug. 4 encounter between government troops and alleged members of the New People’s Army’s Ilocos-Cordillera Regional Committee (ICRC) in Barangay Bonglo, Licuan-Baay, Abra.
The Aug. 4 encounter was the fourth in Abra since July, despite the province being declared insurgency-free in March.
In a separate statement posted on the 5ID’s Facebook page, Maj. Gen. Gulliver L. Señires, commander of the 5th Infantry Division, maintained that the retrieval, identification, and turnover of the remains followed proper procedures.
He said soldiers ensured that the bodies were recovered in a dignified process from the mountainous encounter site and turned over to the families in coordination with concerned government agencies.
But the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) complained that the families endured hours of waiting even after completing documentary requirements.
CHRA said Hilaus’ mother signed the police turnover receipt at 5:56 p.m. on Thursday but was unable to receive her son’s remains until several hours later.
‘This is no longer just a bureaucratic delay; it is a deliberate act of psychological torture against grieving families,’ CHRA spokesperson Casselle Ton said in a statement.
The group also alleged that families, assisted by volunteers from CHRA and the Ilocos Human Rights Alliance, were required to undergo DNA swab tests despite having already submitted documents establishing their relationship with the deceased. It said the additional requirement was not part of the usual procedure for claiming remains