Some 14,000 kilometers away from where she died 10 years ago, poor residents of the Baseco compound in Tondo, Manila, paid tribute to the woman who helped give them a new life.
On Sunday, residents of the Marie Rose Abad GK Village held a morning Mass in honor of the American businesswoman who made it possible for them to have new homes.
Abad was one of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York City on Sept 11, 2001.
Remembering his wife’s promise to help the poor, Abad’s Filipino-American husband Rudy donated $60,000 for the construction of a village for poor families in Tondo, homeowners’ association president Nancy Waminal told the Inquirer.
Residents placed bouquets of roses, daisies, and Baby’s Breath flowers under a silver plaque marking the entrance to the village, a cluster of 48 single-room concrete houses.
The plaque bears the name and picture of Marie Rose. Residents had it blessed by a priest.
Residents said they never met the Abads but heard their story from the Gawad Kalinga foundation, which built the houses.
“This was a chaotic place before. There were killings and violence,” Waminal said. “We wanted to give Mr. Abad a surprise. He doesn’t know about this but we wanted to show our thanks. We hope he learns about this from the news.”
In Malinao, Aklan, relatives of Hector Tamayo, a civil engineer who also died in the 9/11 attacks, held Masses in his memory.
Tamayo was a project manager of the Vanderbilt Group Inc. hired to renovate the 86th floor of the south tower.
According to his relatives’ accounts, Tamayo was supervising the renovation work when he saw one of the planes hijacked by terrorists hit the north tower. He was not able to get out of the south tower.
His body was never recovered but his driver’s license was found in the rubble.
In Iloilo, the family of Ramon Grijalvo also offered prayers for him.
Grijalvo, 58, an American citizen, was a computer analyst of Empire Blue Cross which held office in one of the towers. He was injured in the attacks and died in a hospital a few days later.