DFA: 1 Filipino confirmed dead in Myanmar quake

FILE: Collapse of New Headquarters of the State Audit Office (Thailand) after the 2025 Myanmar earthquake, pictured from JJ Mall, Bangkok. (This Photo was taken by Supanut Arunoprayote via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday confirmed the death of one Filipino in Myanmar following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the Southeast Asian country last month.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega, in a statement, said the remains of one of the four missing Filipinos “have been positively identified” in Myanmar’s central city of Mandalay.

“The family of the deceased Filipino has been so informed. Out of respect for their privacy in this time of grief, we are withholding further information on the matter,” he said.

The Philippine government, he said, continues to work and hopes for the best for the remaining three Filipinos who are still unaccounted in the city.

Alvin Aragon initially confirmed on Wednesday morning that the body of his brother Francis, one of the four missing Filipinos, has been found.

“Ipinapaalam po [naming] na nakita na po [‘yong] kapatid namin at masakit man sa amin tangapin [kasama na siya] ni Lord ngayon (We would like to inform that our brother has been found and while it hurts to accept, he is now with the Lord),” he wrote on a Facebook post.

“We are currently mourning and grieving for the [loss] of our youngest brother… we thank God for all the grace, comfort, encouragement and strength He has given this past weeks sa aming (to our) family,” he added.

De Vega on Tuesday said a team from the National Bureau of Investigation is helping in the identification of remains in Mandalay and had been checking DNA samples taken from remains with those provided by the next of kin.

The violent magnitude 7.7 tremor hit Sagaing in central Myanmar last March 28, devastating the country and neighboring Thailand.

More than a week after the powerful tremors, a United Nations situational report said death toll has risen to over 3,500 while more than 200 remain missing nationwide.