Jhef Umoquit Leste said that the death of his mother, Abigail Danao Leste, 41, shocked his family. PHOTO: JHEF UMOQUIT LESTE/FACEBOOK via The Straits Times/Asia News Network
SINGAPORE — The son of one of the two Filipino domestic helpers killed in the Lucky Plaza accident has mourned his mother on Facebook.
Jhef Umoquit Leste said on Monday evening that the death of his mother, Abigail Danao Leste, 41, has shocked his family.
“Mom, what are we going to do now? You even called us yesterday and we had a good conversation. And then something happened to you, ” he said in a Facebook post.
Leste had been working overseas for 14 years, her son wrote in Ilocano, a dialect spoken by people in the northern part of the Philippines.
His Facebook profile says that he is from Cagayan province.
In his post, Leste said that he has a younger sibling and that he still longed for them to be reunited with their mother and celebrate the New Year together.
They have not seen their mother since 2016, he added.
His mother was among six Filipino domestic helpers who were hit by a car that was making a U-turn on Nutmeg Road behind Lucky Plaza mall on Sunday afternoon.
The six women, a tight-knit group of friends, had gathered at a pavement on the road for early celebrations ahead of the new year.
After hitting them, the car crashed into the pavement railing and plunged several meters onto the Lucky Plaza carpark exit lane below, taking some of the women down with it.
Two of the women were siblings – Arlyn Picar Nucos, 50, who died, and her sister Arceli, 56, who was injured and remains warded at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Two in the group of six are believed to be relatives: Egnal Layugan Limbauan, 43, and Demet Limbauan Limbauan, 37.
Demet has been discharged from hospital while Egnal remains warded.
The last woman in the group, Laila Flores Laudencia, 44, has also been discharged.
Here is a translation of Mr. Leste’s full message on Facebook:
“Mom, what are we going to do now? You caught us by surprise. We can’t go on without you. Please call us or chat. You even called us yesterday and we had a good conversation. And then something happened to you.
“Please come home to us, you have been away for 14 years, that is enough.
“Please come home alive even though our lives won’t be easy. Please come home. We cannot live without you, mom. I will wait here with my younger sibling.
“You’re the only one left to help us. We will wait for you to join us to celebrate the New Year. We haven’t been together since 2016.
“Please come home. We miss you. We can’t go on without you. We don’t know what to do.”