Remains of PNP official who died in US air collision to be repatriated next week

Metro Manila, Philippines - The remains of the Philippine National Police (PNP) official who died in an air collision in the United States will be repatriated next week, his family said.

In a Facebook post, Rio Malabed, widow of PCol Pergentino Malabed, said her husband’s remains will be brought to the PNP Mortuary in Camp Crame in Quezon City on Feb. 21.

It will be transferred to the Manila Memorial Park on Feb. 24, while cremation is scheduled the next day.

Inurnment, meanwhile, will be held at 4 p.m. of Feb. 27.

Malabed died on Jan. 29 in a midair collision between an American Airlines aircraft and a US military helicopter in Washington, D.C.

The chief of the PNP supply management division was on an official trip when the accident occurred. The crash killed 67 people in what was considered the deadliest air disaster in the US in more than two decades, according to international reports.

“Thank you for your prayers and love but certainly, your presence means so much to us during this time,” Malabed’s widow wrote on Facebook.