MANILA – On Mother’s Day, Errol Wendel’s mother appealed for the release of her son’s remains after forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun revealed that the body returned to their family was not his.
“There is one unidentified male adult,” Fortun said at the last May 7 press briefing. She said there were indications that it was not Errol Wendel, one of the 19 killed in Toboso, Negros Occidental.
“I miss him so much,” Wendel’s mom said in a statement in Filipino. “My mother’s day was not happy and so are the coming special occasions because he is not here anymore,” she added.
The Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) said the disappearance and misidentification of Wendel’s body caused deep anguish and outrage among his loved ones, colleagues, and the agricultural workers he had served. The group said this has exposed grave irregularities, incompetence, and inhumanity in the handling of the victims’ remains.
This has also prevented the family from grieving their loss and conducting funeral rites, with no body to cry and pray over, bury, or cremate, the group said.
“What I only want is to get his body returned to us so that we can give him a proper burial,” Wendel’s mother pleaded.
UMA National Chairperson Ariel ‘Ka Ayik’ Casilao expressed worry that whether deliberate or not, the delay got in the way of uncovering the truth.
“The negligence of the police and military is unforgiveable,” Casilao said in a statement.
During the retrieval of the remains last April, Wendel’s siblings appealed to the funeral parlor to let them see the actual cadaver but they were not permitted to do so. Instead, only a photograph of Wendel supposedly taken before embalming had been shown to a family member.
The funeral house in Toboso was also heavily guarded by police and soldiers at the time of the retrieval which made the situation more hostile and unwelcoming for the families and the quick reaction team that assisted the family members of Wendel.
In her initial findings, Fortun said that most of the gunshot wounds on the three bodies were to the head, the back and the extremities. She was able to examine five of the 19 victims.
Members of the Quick Reaction Team in Toboso, Negros Occidental, are waiting outside the Niniel Funeral Homes on Thursday, April 23, for the owner to speak to them about the remains of the killed civilians last April 19, 2026. Photo by Bulatlat
UMA questioned the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ sweeping claims that the victims were engaged in an armed encounter, especially amid the absence of an independent investigation and the AFP’s reliance on paraffin tests already considered outdated and unreliable by forensic experts, particularly for bodies submerged in water.
UMA also slammed the AFP’s claims that the bodies had been retrieved and handled “with dignity.”
“What emerged instead was a disturbing pattern of negligence, irregularity, and possible cover-up. The initial autopsy findings already pointed to gross violations of International Humanitarian Law,” Casilao said.
Meanwhile, Fortun appealed for help in finding Errol Wendel. “I appeal to the relatives who were able to retrieve bodies and have already disposed of them. Please help us. It is painful for the family that received the wrong body,” Fortun said.
Wendel was a full-time staff member of UMA, in which capacity he conducted research among sugar workers in Negros.
As a peasant organizer, Wendel was part of the revival Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac.
Wendel and the rest of the 19 killed in Toboso, Negros Occidental were remembered and honored in a grand tribute organized by progressive groups on May 11.
Editor’s note: The name of Errol Wendel’s mother was withheld to protect her identity.
The post ‘Return my son’s remains’ – Errol Wendel’s mom appeared first on Bulatlat.
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