Son Finally Finds Mother’s Grave 13 Years After Yolanda

Posted on November 8, 2026 at 07:12 PM

Tacloban City — For years, Cezar Pretencio did not know where his mother was buried after she died when Super Typhoon Yolanda struck Tacloban City in November 2013.

Pretencio, 35, was working abroad when the typhoon hit. His two children and his 69-year-old mother, Restituta Pretencio, were staying in Barangay 83, San Jose, Tacloban City.

With communication lines down, he could not immediately contact his family. He worried about his mother and children but had no way of knowing if they had survived the disaster.

He later learned that his mother had died, while his two children survived. However, he never got the chance to see his mother or say goodbye.

When he returned home, he went to Holy Cross Memorial Park, where many Yolanda victims were buried. But with so many victims laid to rest there, he could not identify his mother’s grave.

He spent time and money trying to find out where she was buried. His search continued until DNA testing helped identify his mother’s remains.

After years of not knowing where she was laid to rest, Pretencio can now visit her grave, light candles, and offer flowers in her memory.

He also urged families who still have relatives missing since Yolanda to undergo DNA testing to help identify their loved ones.

For Pretencio, knowing where his mother is buried finally gives him a place to visit and remember her, 13 years after the typhoon took her life.

Photos By: Rolly Magallanes, The Vanguard