Friends pay last respects to 2 Pinays killed in Singapore road accident

Photo by Dazzelyn Baltazar Zapata

The remains of Arlyn P. Nucos, 50, one of the two OFWs who died in the freak road accident at Lucky Plaza Singapore days before the New Year, had been repatriated to the Philippines.  A short viewing of her remains was held at the Sin Ming Funeral Parlour from 12-12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, after which her body was brought directly to the airport to be flown home.

Meanwhile, the remains of Abigail D. Leste, 41, will be repatriated on January 2, 2020, after a three-day wake at Direct Funeral Services in Geylang Bahru.

On Sunday afternoon, December 29, 2019, a day of festivity at Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road ended in tragedy for eight friends after a U-turning wayward vehicle rammed into the group while they were having a picnic and brought four of them down several meters to the carpark driveway of the Lucky Plaza Apartment, leaving two others injured at the sidewalk.

Initial reports mention only six victims but there were two others in the group of friends who were able to run away from the vehicle. Many  Singapore-based OFWs, mainly domestic workers, flock to Lucky Plaza, the favorite hangout of OFWs in Singapore on their day off to meet with friends.

Leaked CCTV footage circulated on social media shows a black vehicle briefly parked and then made a sharp U-turn at Nutmeg Road and accelerated directly to the group having the picnic on the sidewalk of Lucky Plaza Mall.

Nucos' friends and family attended the viewing. Her employers were also there and went in at an earlier time. She has been working under the same employer for around 30 years and have practically helped raise the three adult children of her main employer, according to Bernard Menon, director for Migrant Worker Segment of the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and who oversees the Center for Domestic Employees (CDE) and Migrant Workers’ Center.

Meanwhile, Leste's friends Jash, Jen, and Romz were among those who visited the injured at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital a day after the accident, and also went to the scene of the accident. They recalled that on the unfortunate Sunday, Leste initially confirmed to play volleyball with their group but later withdrew and said she was attending a get-together.

“Kinausap siya ni Coach para magtraining siya, tapos nag-oo siya pero di siya nagpunta. Last convo (conversation) nila, nag-out siya. Tapos yun pala, dito (Lucky Plaza) siya pupunta kasi may party sila. Tapos tinignan ni Coach yung FB niya, may nag[FB]-live [tunkol sa aksidente]. Hindi pa namin alam na si Abigail yung isa na andun. Nalaman namin bandang 7:30 sa group chat na namin.” Jen, Jash, and Romz shared. Their volleyball group is organizing a prayer and fundraising get-together for Leste on Sunday, January 5.

Two of the victims are still warded in Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Arceli P. Nocus, 56, the older sister of deceased Arlyn, is still at the Intensive Care Unit and will undergo more operation for her pelvic and lower body injuries. As of writing, Arceli has yet to find out what happened to her younger sister. Their sister-in-law (name withheld for privacy) who works in the same household as Arceli, has asked visitors through a public Facebook post not to mention anything to Arceli about the death of her sister as doctors fear it will negatively impact her healing and recovery.

Egnal L. Limbauan, 43, is confined at the High Dependency Unit and will also undergo operations for her injuries. Meanwhile, Egnal’s cousin Demet L. Limbauan, 37, as well as Laila F. Laudencia, 44, were both discharged a day after the accident for minor physical injuries and on outpatient monitoring.

As of writing, more than S$270,000 (P10 million) has been collected as reflected on the giving.sg platform. All the donations will go to the victims, according to CDE Director Bernard Menon.

As to how the donations will be disbursed, Menon said that they usually follow an internal guideline for their charity. “In this instance, given the fact that some of the conditions of those injured are still very fluid, we don’t have the final outcome yet,” he said.

It will be premature to say how we will proportion the funds, Menon added. “Nevertheless, the principle that we work on normally is, the deceased get a fair share of what we fundraise but also, among the injured, if their permanent employment is then affected and they’re unable to carry on working, we also need to do quite a bit to ensure that they and their dependents are also taken cared of.”

Those who wish to donate can do so via the fundraiser that the Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) has launched for those affected and their families here.

In spite of the holiday closure of the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) Singapore, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) arm have been tirelessly working since the accident happened to contact families and provide assistance to the victims and visit the injured at the Tan Tock Send Hospital.

Consul General Adrian Bernie C. Candolada shared in an earlier interview that the Philippine Embassy is devoting energy to assist the victims and their families. He also assured that they will assist in making sure justice is served for the victims.

“The police has given us assurance that investigation is on-going and we will make sure that investigation is completed also as a matter of giving justice to the victims. I think this is all the  families of the victims also want, their desire to be able to know exactly what happened. That’s one way of giving justice to their loved ones, specially to the families of those who died during the accident,” Candolada said. —KBK, GMA News