MANILA, Philippines–A widow of one of the 44 fallen police heroes in Maguindanao arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) from Libya on Tuesday, along with 26 other Filipinos repatriated by the Philippine government to escape the fighting in that country.
Carrying a stuffed toy, she stepped out of the arrival area and was met by uniformed policemen who led her to a van that took her out of Naia.
She avoided media cameras by covering her head with a white jacket.
Department of Foreign Affairs officials who met her at the airport refused to identify her and prevented the media from talking to her.
“This is painful for her, please, let us respect her privacy,” said a DFA official.
Airport sources, however, identified her as Corneille Agabon, wife of PO2 Chum Goc-Ong Agabon, one of the 44 SAF heroes.
Agabon, according to coworkers, was a nurse at Benghazi Medical Center (BMC), the biggest hospital in Libya.–Niña P. Calleja