All they had left were a wedding ring, a receipt for money transfer, an ID card and a few other ordinary things. But these items confirmed to family members that their wife or son or daughter was among the 72 workers killed in the May 13 fire that gutted a slippers factory in Valenzuela City.

Family members broke down when shown photos of the belongings retrieved from the victims, all of whom were burned beyond recognition. They were later allowed to see the actual items.

Emotions ran high yesterday morning at the Valenzuela City social hall, as the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) flashed on a white screen the photos of the victims' belongings that were recovered from the gutted slipper factory.

The remains were being identified through DNA testing, dental records and their personal belongings.

Sr. Supt. Emmanuel Aranas, crime laboratory deputy director for operations, said cadavers and items recovered from them would be released to the claimants after the final identification process and upon presentation of necessary documents.

"We will issue death certificates – there are no documents yet – so the certificates will be signed by our doctors," he said.

The SOCO has recovered belongings from 69 of the 72 victims, noting that three victims had been identified on the day of the fire. Among recovered items were victims' dentures, jewelry and clothes.

Sinfornia Maambong, 45, wept after a photo of some bills, receipts and coins recovered from victim number 13 was shown.

Aranas said they were able to identify the victim through a receipt from a courier service recovered from her wallet. He said they checked the "equivalent number series on the bar code" of the receipt and discovered that some money was sent by the victim through an LBC branch in Cubao.

When Aranas announced the name of the person in the LBC receipt, Maambong almost had a breakdown.

"That was my daughter. She sent me the money through LBC," Maambong said while being comforted by a social welfare officer.

Maambong described her daughter Jonessa as very responsible. Jonessa supposedly sent P1,200 to her brother Jeromei, who has a heart ailment and was celebrating his birthday in Digos City, sometime in March.

She said Jonessa worked in Kentex for eight months after having been endorsed by her partner Jun Jun.

Jonessa would be cremated and buried in Valenzuela, near the grave of her grandmother, Jun Jun said.

As the presentation went on, Mario Panes, 48, recognized the identification card recovered from victim number 55 as belonging to his 25-year-old son Marvin.

Panes said his son, who worked in Kentex for seven years, had proposed marriage to his partner when he went to Iloilo early this month.

He said he only knew about the incident when his nephew called and informed him that Marvin was among those who died in the Valenzuela factory fire.

He said they immediately sought assistance from the local government in Iloilo so they could retrieve the body of his son.

Eric Estorpe, 33, recognized his 29-year-old wife as among the victims when he identified their wedding ring in a photo presented by the SOCO.

Relieved that SOCO was able to identify his wife, Estorpe said the family agreed to have her body cremated and brought to their province.

Meanwhile, the Valenzuela city government has provided a total of P83,000 financial assistance to families of the victims during a public assistance caravan.

Public Attorney's Office chief Persida Acosta said their office will extend free legal and forensic assistance to survivors and families of the victims.