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CEBU CITY, Philippines ? Dolores Cabunilas-Yigal wanted to learn English so she could find a job and help her in family Cebu.
But for Paz Cabunilas (not Cabonilas as reported by the wires), it would have been better that her sister did not marry a foreigner and go to the United States. Dolores would still be alive, she added.
?Kon nahibaw-an pa lang nga ka kini diay ang mahitabo, mas maayo pag wa siya niadto og Amerika, mas maayo pag wa siya nag-minyo (If only we knew that this would happen to Dolores, it would have been better she didn't get married and go to the US),? Paz told Cebu Daily News (CDN).
Dolores, who hailed from Cebu province, was among 14 immigrants killed by Jiverly Wong, 41.
The gunman, himself an immigrant from Vietnam, opened fire at the office of the American Civic Association in Binghamton before killing himself.
Yigal was then attending an English class, an important stepping-stone toward her goal of landing a job involving children.
She was married to American Omri Yigal, 53 and a retired high school teacher.
The US government on Tuesday assured the family of the Filipino immigrant killed in last week's massacre at an immigrants' center in New York that justice would be served her and the 13 other victims.
?Absolutely,? Ambassador Kristie Kenney said in response to a query if the case of Dolores Yigal would be given thorough investigation and justice.
?She's not the only one who lost her life but she's the one we know of,? she said. ?We think of that and of her family and of the new life she was starting in the US but she now won't have.?
Dolores? body is expected to be flown to Cebu where she will be buried.
Paz said she had yet to receive the details from her sister, who works as a nurse in the US.
The remains would be brought to the family home in Barangay (village) Bulacao, Cebu City, a two-story structure which has not been painted on the outside.
Paz said she and her family had yet to come to terms on what happened to Dolores.
?Lisud pa kaayo dawaton ang hitabo. Sakit kaayo kay pirmi mi magkuyog. (It's very hard to accept what happened to my sister. It's painful because we were always together),? Paz told CDN.
Dolores, 53, was a high school dropout. She completed her elementary education at the Bulacao Elementary School.
She was third of five children of couple Christina and Samson, a rope maker who died in 1992.
Paz and her two elder brothers are jobless. Their fourth sibling works as a nurse at a hospital in California.
Christina, now 83, has not been told about what happened to Dolores because it might worsen her heart ailment.
Life was difficult for a family of seven who depended on the meager income of Samson to make both ends meet.
To help the family, she and Paz worked as a seamstress for 17 years.
Since she remained loveless, Dolores decided to turn to the Internet to have fun. There she met Omri.
?Maybe, it was her luck to get married,? Paz said.
Dolores and Omri got married in September 2006 in Cebu City.
They lived in a house in Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City for a year before deciding to settle down in the US.
But Dolores wanted to get a job in the US, Paz said.
To enhance her English comprehension, Dolores took English classes at the American Civic Association Center, Paz said.
?Gusto to siya (Dolores) makamao pa gyud og English aron di siya maglisud makasulod og trabaho. (Dolores wanted to improve her proficiency in English so she would not have difficulty finding a job),? Paz said.
She said her sister promised to extend a financial assistance to her and her three daughters as soon as Dolores would land a job.
?Iyang giingnan ang akong mga anak nga makatrabaho gani kuno siya (Dolores), mabuhong gyud kuno ang akong mga anak (Dolores told my daughters that if she would be able to find work, my daughters would get plenty of gifts),? Paz said.
She said Dolores was a ?generous? person who shares what she had to them.
?Dalanpanan gyud to siya sa pangayo. Iya gyud nang pangtagaan ang akong mga anak og unsay iyang mapalit (Dolores has been our refuge. She gave my daughters whatever she had),? she said.
But she said she could not question God's authority over life even if she wanted Dolores to live.
?Salig gihapon mi sa Ginoo (We keep our trust in God),? she said. /With a report from Carine Asutilla
