DUBAI: She has never failed to send money home to her dad, who makes meager living as a carpenter, and her three siblings, as she was the eldest of four children.
Twenty-five-year-old Merriner Bartoces, quit college and went to Abu Dhabi in March 2018 with the resolve to someday be able to build a home for themselves and send her siblings to college.
It all ended at around 10am of that fateful Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 when an explosion, caused by a faulty gas connection, ripped the restaurant Bartoces was a working at to pieces and took her life. She was the opening cashier.
“Nag-abroad sya dahil mahirap lang sila,” Alfreda Bartoces Vilan said of Merriner, her niece. “Gusto nyang makatulong sa kanyang mga magulang,” she added.
“Wish nya na makapagpatayo ng bahay at mapag-aral ang kanyang mga kapatid,” Vilan said in an overseas interview from their place in Purok Maisan, Camanjac, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. Merriner grew up in the same place and decided to leave their poverty-stricken home to make money.
Vilan said her Merriner’s father is a carpenter with no regular employment, only able to earn when there’s a construction job available.
“Yung ama nya, biglang bagsak ang katawan. Di kumakain; di makatulog. Hindi nya matanggap ang nangyari sa kanyang anak,” Vilan said.
Bartoces, said Vilan, made it to college but “second year college lang ang inabot nya kasi hirap na hirap nga sila kaya nagdecide sya na mag-abroad na lang.”
She said Bartoces was a “responsableng anak.” (Responsible child).
“Kahit kapos sa pera, pilit pa ring nagpapadala,” Vilan said, recalling that two days before she died, Bartoces had tried to send money home.
“Mapadala sana sya kasi sweldo. Kaso kinain ng ATM machine yung kanyang card, kaya nangutang muna sya sa kaibigan nya. Sabi nya, babayaran nya kapag na-ayos na ang ATM nya. Kaso nga, namatay na sya,” Vilan said.
Vilan said they learned about Bartoces’ death from her niece’s friend and roommate, who was working at a nearby restaurant when the explosion happened.
“Narinig nya yung pagsabog. Lumabas sya sa restaurant at nakita nya sabog na sabog yung (fastfood chain branch). She informed us about the explosion. Hindi kami makatulog dito. Text kami ng text. Chat ng chat.
“Naghanap sa mga ospital yung kaibigan nya pero wala dun. Bumalik sya sa site at nandun pa pala, natabunan ng debris,” narrated Vilan.
Relatives and friends took to the social media, posted Bartoces’ picture and asked for information that could lead to her whereabouts immediately after the incident.
Ambassador Hjayceelyn Quintana of the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi has said her office has been getting in touch with the blast victims’ relatives and assured of assistance.
In a statement issued the day after the tragic incident, the embassy said the ambassador “has reached out to the families of the deceased to express condolences and give assurance that they will be provided all necessary assistance.”
“It is with deep sadness that the Embassy shares the latest information that two Filipinos died from the unfortunate incident,” read the statement.
The ambassador, according to the statement, “continues to work with UAE authorities to also obtain details on some injured Filipinos who were brought to the hospital for treatment of minor and moderate injuries so they can be given appropriate support.”
The ambassador also advised the Filipino community to “remain safe and be mindful of the protocols of the host government.”
Vilan said they have already been contacted by authorities. “Gusto naming na makarating na agad dito (ang kanyang mga labi pero) yung mga gastusin, hindi naming kaya. Mahirap lang kami,” she said.
UAE authorities have confirmed that there were two fatalities at the blast, both of them Filipinos.
The other victim has been identified through local media reports as 38-year-old Clark Gasis who has been working from home and happened to be in the area for a medical check-up, his wife, Elna, told Gulf News.
“Very kind, patient, hardworking, considerate and thoughtful – that was my husband,” Gulf News reporter, Angel Tesorero, quoted her as saying. “Even if he was busy working, he would find time to cook and do other household chores. And after a day’s work, he would spend time with our kids – aged five (girl) and four (boy) – and do Zumba. He was also very focused on our kids’ online classes,” she said.
Clark went to the UAE in 2013 and was an Autocad draftsman; Elna works at a vehicle insurance company.
According to the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office (ADGMO), the massive explosion “was caused by a misalignment in the gas container fittings following refueling.”
The incident happened on Sheik Rashid Bin Saeed Road, popularly, Airport Road.
The Daily Bread 