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CEBU CITY, Philippines - With another batch of 99 human remains of shipwreck victims arriving in Cebu on Tuesday, funeral parlor employees are working double time again.
Ten to 12 service vehicles, extra staff and new metal casket racks were being prepared at the Cosmpolitan Funeral Homes in Junquera Street.
The victims of the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars will be arriving on board the Cagayan Princess, which will dock at Pier 6 of the Cebu port on Tuesday morning.
The Cebu branch of Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes said they hired personnel from other branches and built new racks to stack up coffins so they could make room for a public viewing by more families hoping to identify their kinfolk.
Rony Ng, branch manager of Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes Inc., said more caskets would be placed on top of another in racks to allow more people into the viewing area, which can only accommodate 200 caskets.
The first batch of 49 remains arrived last Friday. Only two bodies were claimed so far from the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes.
Ng reminded families there was no need to pay the funeral parlor any fees because all expenses are being shouldered by Sulpicio Lines.
With the advanced state of decomposition of the bodies making visual identification difficult, the public viewing has ?slowed down? the process, an official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said, pointing to the need for DNA testing.
Many families have yet to comply with complete requirements for the NBI medico-legal team to give clearance to release a cadaver.
Only three remains have been officially identified. Two were released from the funeral parlor, Ng said.
Meanwhile, Ng appealed for understanding in the wake of public complaints about the stench from the funeral parlor. He said he expects Tuesday?s batch of cadavers to be properly sealed to prevent any foul smell.
Eateries near Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes are slowly recovering from last week's loss of patrons who complained about the overpowering stench coming from the remains. /With a report from Jhunnex Napallacan
