MANILA ム Hundreds of victims of a super su-per typhoon that struck Tacloban City three weeks ago remained unburied as government personnel went on holi-day break.

In a phone interview with the Daily Manila Shimbun, Rey Gozon, regional office of civil defense confirmed that unburied bodies have to undergo identification process being done by personnel from Depart-ment of Health, Nation-al Bureau of Investiga-tion and other agen-cies.

メThere are a lot of dead bodies that need to be processed and this will take time, there is a need for enough time to finish that,モ Gozon said.

In a radio interview, national disaster risk council head Eduardo Del Rosario said foren-sic experts from the NBI will be sent on January 2.

TV news reports said residents have been complaining of the stench of the bodies despite being covered in bags. RA/DMS