He stood ramrod-straight. His close-cropped hair, Top Gun-inspired dark glasses and olive green tactical bag gave him away as a member of the uniformed service.
With a bunch of five red roses in his hands, Nickinson Galupe made his way into the Carreta Public Cemetery in Cebu City where the remains of passengers and crew of the ill-fated M/V St. Thomas Aquinas were buried.
Galupe, who said he was a Philippine Navy serviceman, was the only relative of among those missing in the Aug. 16, 2013 sea tragedy who visited the gravesite of Aquinas victims’ on its first year anniversary.
“The pain is still there but I am trying to move on,” Galupe told Cebu Daily News.
Galupe came from Surigao where he is assigned.
His wife, then 25, two year old son and parents in law were among the 21 people who remain unaccounted for following the accident that claimed 116 lives.
A total of 46 unidentified and unclaimed remains were entombed in the cemetery.
With no specific gravestone to visit, Galupe placed the roses at the center of the row of niches.
“They know that those flowers are for them,” he said.
His family was en route to Manila to attend a funeral of a relative when the accident happened.
Galupe said he has no plans to sue anyone.
“What happened was an accident. I can’t pin the blame on anyone,” he added.
After saying his prayers, Galupe made the sign of the cross and headed for the exit.
He said he would spend the night in Cebu in a hotel overlooking the waters where his life made a painful turn exactly a year ago.
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