BY JOB REALUBIT

REMAINS believed to be those of Sherlyn Cadapan, one of two UP students allegedly abducted by military personnel in Bulacan almost two years ago, were exhumed yesterday in Pangasinan by teams from the Commission of Human Rights and the UP College of Medicine.

The remains from the municipal cemetery in Labrador town will be brought to UP Manila for autopsy and DNA testing to determine if these were of Cadapan.

Cadapan and Karen Empeno were reportedly forcibly taken by military elements in June 2006 in Hagonoy, Bulacan while doing research work on a farming community.

Sherlyn and Empeno were last seen alive in June 2007, according to a witness.

The exhumation was conducted on the request of Sherlyn's mother, Linda, who said she received information on the unidentified body in Labrador.

CHR Commissioner Wilhelm Soriano said it took a while for the exhumation to be conducted because of processes and protocols concerning an "unidentified" body.

He said the CHR had to coordinate and secure approvals from the local government and police, among others. He said the availability of forensic experts was also a factor.

Soriano said the autopsy and DNA test on tissue samples from the remains would determine the cause and time of death and the identity.

Dr. Corazon de Ungria, chief of DNA analysis laboratory at UP Diliman, said the level of decomposition may affect the test.