The body of a second member of the 10th Philippine peacekeeping contingent to Haiti has been retrieved from the rubble in Port-au-Prince, bringing to three the confirmed Filipino fatalities in the powerful earthquake that rocked the Caribbean island nation last week.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Jr., Armed Forces spokesman, said the body of Army Sgt. Eustacio Bermudez, Jr., one of two remaining Filipino soldiers trapped inside the Christopher Hotel, was pulled from the rubble at around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Philippine time.

Bermudez was a clerk at the Conduct and Discipline Unit/Force Provo Martial of the United Nations Stabilization Mission to Haiti (MINUSTAH).

His body was found at the second floor of the hotel which served as the MINUSTAH headquarters.

On Tuesday, the AFP also announced that the bodies of Data Processor 3rd Class Pearlie Panangui, 30, also a member of the Philippine contingent, and Jerome yap, executive assistant to the UN deputy head of mission in Haiti, were retrieved from the rubble of the collapsed UN headquarters.

Yap’s body was found at around 6:15 p.m. Monday (Philippine time), while Panangui’s body was retrieved by search and rescue teams at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday (Philippine time).

“On behalf of the Chief of Staff, Gen. Victor Ibrado, officers, enlisted personnel, and civilian employees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we would like to extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family, relatives, and friends of Sgt. Bermudez,” Brawner said.

“Good men must die but death cannot kill his name that has now made a mark to the AFP and the whole nation,” he added.

Arrangements are being made with the United Nations for the return of the remains of Panangui and Bermudez.

A native of Talavera, Nueva Ecija, Bermudez would have turned 38 on February 1. He was a survivor of the major earthquake that rocked Northern Luzon in 1990.

Brawner said Bermudez, along with fellow Filipino peacekeeper Cpl. David Catacutan, were also trapped at the Central Colleges of the Philippines (CCP) in Cabanatuan City which collapsed during the 1990 earthquake. The two, who were then students, survived as they were immediately rescued.

This time, however, only Catacutan was fortunate to survive the Haiti earthquake. He was rescued from the rubble of the Montana hotel where he was also trapped for a while.

Prior to his deployment to Haiti, Bermudez, who joined the military in 1991, was assigned to the Army’s Special Forces regiment (Airborne). He was a recipient of various military awards including the Bronze Cross medal, military civic action medal and military commendation medals.

The AFP spokesman said despite the sad news about the two Filipino peacekeepers, they remain optimistic that a third member, Sgt. Janice Arocena, is still alive and would be rescued soon.