Mandalay: The search for the four missing Filipinos continues as the Myanmar government shifts its focus from search and rescue operations to retrieving bodies in earthquake-stricken areas, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated Tuesday. The Myanmar government's current efforts are centered on the identification of remains, indicating diminishing hopes for finding survivors, according to DFA Undersecretary for Migration Eduardo Jose de Vega.

According to Philippines News Agency, de Vega explained in a media interview that local authorities are operating under the assumption that individuals in collapsed buildings have either perished or remain buried. The four missing Filipinos have not yet been located. DNA traces were obtained from two corpses believed to be those of a Filipino couple before they were cremated, but confirmation of their identities remains pending.

A team from the National Bureau of Investigation is currently in Myanmar to match these DNA samples with those provided by the relatives of the missing individuals. De Vega expressed the urgent need for closure, stating, "I wish I could give more encouraging news to our fellow Filipino but at the very least, if there's no miracle coming at least we need closure."

The DFA confirmed that the majority of the remains retrieved from the collapsed Sky Villa Condominium in Mandalay were cremated due to a lack of cold storage facilities. This building is where the four missing Filipinos were feared to be trapped.

De Vega noted that many members of the Philippine humanitarian contingent are stationed in Mandalay to assist in recovery efforts. Additionally, around 15 Filipinos have been safely transported from Mandalay to Yangon, with the DFA ready to repatriate them should they decide to return to the Philippines.