Relatives of Pinoys on downed MH17 flight head for Malaysia

Relatives of the three Filipinos aboard downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 are on their way to Malaysia "to claim the bodies" of their loved ones.

A report on "News TV Live" on Saturday said Tirso Pabellon, brother of Irene Gunawan, one of the MH17 crash victims, confirmed their flight to Malaysia.

"Kaming magkakapatid po, special trip daw po kami, may dadaan sa amin dito," said Pabellon.

Irene, 54, Sherryl Shania Gunawan, 15, and Darryl Dwight Gunawan, 19, were on their way back to the Philippines for a family reunion in Pagbilao, Quezon, when flight MH17 crashed.

Irene was the fifth child of the Pabellon family and was the breadwinner having worked in the Netherlands for 20 years as a member of a band.

Earllier, Pabellon told GMA News' "State of the Nation" the victims were supposed to be in Manila last Friday afternoon.

"Uuwi nga po sana [sila] nitong July 27 para sa family reunion ng Pabellon family... Wala po kaming contact. Ang alam ko, basta siya'y uuwi. Ito na nga po palang araw iyon,” he said.

Tirso said they will take the remains of Irene, Sherryl, Darryl, and Irene's husband, an Indonesian, Budy Janto Gunawan, back to Quezon.

Malaysia flight MH17 was shot down while on flight over eastern Ukraine on Thursday night. It carried 298 people, with 15 Malaysian crew members and 283 passengers of various nationalities.

On Irene's social media account, a picture of her family was swarmed by relatives who anticipated their return to the Philippines.

Taken by Budy, an employee of Malaysia Airlines-Amsterdam, the picture showed Irene and their three children near a bus stop in Leidseplein.

Jessica Gunawan, Irene's only surviving child, had received condolences from friends and family members in the Netherlands, Philippines, and other countries.

Before their deaths, Irene and Budy's children followed their parent's artistic passions. Sherryl studied at BuentingSport in Amstelveen, and was part of the student dance group Dance Tech.

Meanwhile, Darryl had studied medicine at VU University Amsterdam, before establishing a self-branded company called Dwight Media, which dealt with graphic and web design, photography, and film.  — Rie Takumi /LBG, GMA News