‘We only fear the worst’
By Margaux Ortiz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:53:00 06/23/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Tearful relatives jammed the office of Sulpicio Lines in Manila’s North Harbor for news about their loved ones who had sailed to Cebu province aboard the MV Princess of the Stars.
Stella and Heidee Laurel said they had yet to receive clear news from the shipping company on the fate of their parents and five siblings.
“We don’t know what has happened to them. We only fear the worst,” Stella, 31, said in Filipino, sobbing.
Heidee, 21, said she and her sister saw their parents Nilo, 50, and Ester, 48, off at the pier on Friday night. With Nilo and Ester were their other children: Jonil, 17; Banjo, 10; Dodje, 9; Jackie, 8; and Jack Nil, 7.
“My father was able to find work as a driver in Mandaue City,” Heidee said.
“We grew up in Cavite, and during the entire time my family was here, my father had a very hard time finding a job.”
The opportunity prompted the elder Laurel to decide to relocate his whole family to Cebu.
“We were supposed to follow them there, and now this happened,” Heidee said.
Stella said her parents had sent them text messages while they were on the ship, asking her and her other siblings to pray for them because “the waves were really rough.”
“I still remember my brother Jonil telling me that it would have been better if we came with them to Cebu,” Stella said, wiping her tears.
Jennalyn Alcazar pleaded for information about her 71-year-old mother-in-law Erlinda Alcazar. She said Erlinda worked for an employment agency, helping people in Cebu find work in Manila.
She said that the family had been trying to get in touch with Erlinda. “We don’t know what to do. Please help us,” Jennalyn said.
Sulpicio Lines officials said there was still reason to hope despite various reports that majority of the ship’s passengers were still missing and feared dead.
“We received information that there were many passengers who survived and are presently stranded at nearby Isla de Gallo island near Sibuyan in Romblon,” Sulpicio Lines legal counsel Dante Vargas said in a phone interview. With a report from Leila S. Salaverria
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