Maryan Pascual Esteban, the overseas Filipino worker who perished in the massive fire that engulfed a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong, was supposed to fly home this Christmas to be with her family and her 10-year-old son.
According to a report by Jonathan Andal on Saksi Monday night, the 40-year-old OFW was scheduled to return to the Philippines on December 16.
GMA Integrated News visited Esteban’s hometown in Jones, Isabela, where her grieving family expressed hope that her remains will soon be repatriated.
“Our Christmas would have been so joyful, but this happened,” her mother, Manayon Esteban Medina, said in Ilocano.
It also coincided with the birthday of Esteban’s father, Jaime, who said the family could not bring themselves to prepare even a simple celebration amid their grief.
“I hope they can bring her home soon… maybe within three weeks,” he said in Ilocano.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) assured the family that financial assistance will be provided and that Esteban’s remains will be repatriated without delay.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan personally visited Esteban’s 10-year-old son in Cainta, Rizal.
Esteban had worked in Hong Kong for four years and previously spent a decade as an OFW in Lebanon. The fire she fell victim to has claimed at least 151 lives to date.
The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong has distributed relief goods and financial assistance to affected Filipinos, and is also helping them reconstruct documents lost in the blaze.
Before her death, Esteban was preparing to regain custody of her son once she returned home. The boy is set to receive educational assistance until he completes college, with OWWA encouraging him to pursue his studies—something his mother had long hoped for.
When asked about his dreams, the boy said he wants to become a firefighter someday, “so no one else would have to die in a fire.”
