MANILA, Philippines—In a well-kept bungalow that Arden Jugueta built for his family in Barangay Buliran in San Miguel, Bulacan, there is a heavy sense of gloom.

The man of the house is still not home, his scheduled return delayed by three days now.

“Until we see his body, I believe he’s still alive,” said Jugueta’s wife, Miguela, 41.

A representative of Air France had called Miguela to confirm that her husband was among the 228 passengers on the plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on May 31.

“He (Air France representative) told me, ‘Condolence.’ I said, ‘I won’t believe he’s dead until I have his body.’ Bong (Jugueta) is a good swimmer. He might have survived,” Miguela told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview on Thursday.

Employed by El Borg Shipping Management as a fitter-mechanic on a vessel in Brazil, Jugueta was on his way home after finishing his three-month contract.

Turning 42 on July 9, Jugueta had been a seaman for 18 years.

“He last called me before he boarded the plane for the 7 p.m. flight,” Miguela recalled.

Don’t take that flight

She said she discouraged her husband from taking that May 31 flight from Rio de Janiero.

“I advised him to rebook the flight to May 28 so that he wouldn’t have to pay for his hotel accommodation and he could have more days of vacation here (Bulacan). He was rather shy to ask the company because it always shouldered the fare for his vacation,” Miguela said.

“So he took the flight together with his Croatian boss and a Romanian co-employee,” she said.

Gold necklace

She spent the past few days in prayers for his safety. Arden, she said, kept deep faith in God. He always wore a gold necklace with a crucifix pendant and carried in his pocket a prayer booklet with the image of St. Joseph, the patron of fathers.

“I cannot do anything if this is the will of God, but I continue to hope he is still alive,” Miguela said.

Thursday was sadder because it was the 20th birthday of Argel, their eldest son.

“Bong always tries to be around during his children’s birthdays,” Miguela said.

Argel has taken a leave of absence from work as a seaman in Indonesia and is expected to be home on Friday, according to Miguela.

“The last time we saw him (Arden) was on March 3 [when he left for Brazil],” she said.

Because her husband was frequently working overseas during their 19 years of marriage, Miguela has worked full-time as a mother to raise their three children. Aleli is 17 and Arden Jr. is 15.

Happy memories

Their relatives have tried to comfort the children by talking about their happy memories with their father, said Rommel Ramos, Miguela’s cousin.

Miguela has not discussed insurance matters with her husband’s company or Air France. “Not yet, I won’t until [we are sure] he’s dead,” she said.

Should that come, she said she would need assistance for the education of Aleli and Arden Jr. “That’s the reason that Bong has been working abroad. He wants the kids to get a good education, to live comfortably,” she said.

“I can say that Arden is the perfect husband and father to my three kids. He’s a good provider so this is difficult to accept,” she said.

Air France has told families of passengers aboard Flight 447 to abandon any hope of survivors.