Philippines basically completes burial of typhoon victims

Philippine authorities have almost done the work in burying all the decomposing bodies in typhoon-hit areas in the central province of Leyte two months after typhoon Haiyan ravaged the country, a senior government official said Sunday. In a report to Malacanang, the presidential palace, Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery Panfilo Lacson said Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez had confirmed that they have already completed the burial of most of the 1,400 bodies that were previously subjected to forensic tests in a bid to identify them. Only 49 of the bodies remain to be buried as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has requested not to bury, he said, adding NBI agents have not finished processing these bodies and they have promised to complete everything by Monday. Typhoon Haiyan struck the country on Nov. 8, 2013, leaving more than 6,100 people dead and some 1,700 others missing.