Townsfolk mourn Pinoy killed in Saudi attack

PIAT, Cagayan — Shock and disbelief gripped the residents of this town, 30 kilometers from the provincial capital of Tuguegarao City, when they learned that one of the three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) killed during a terrorist attack on Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, was one of their own.

Town councilor Jun Reyes, a former mayor of Piat, said the news of Mariano Cabasag’s death has momentarily dampened enthusiasm for the ongoing preparation for the annual feast day of their patron, the Nuestra Señora de Piat, on July 2.

"Our constituents even insisted that it was not Mar who was killed in that Al-Khobar terrorist attack but only his namesake," Reyes said.

Reyes said Mar, as he was fondly called by his friends, had been well-known to parishioners here because he once served as a sacristan or altar boy during the time of parish priest Marcelo Bassig, who supported his school education at the Cagayan State University (CSU).

Mar, 28, subsequently finished a two-year electrical technician course at CSU although he really wanted to earn a degree in hotel and restaurant management.

"At thirteen, he was already good in cooking," his mother Remedios recalled.

She said her late husband wanted Mar, the eldest of their four children, to become a priest.

"It was my husband’s wish before he died that Mar will become a servant of God," Remedios said. Mar was five years old when his father passed away.

Remedios said Mar, along with his sister and two brothers, rose at 5 a.m. every Sunday to attend the first mass at the Our Lady of Piat Church. She recalled that she had constantly asked the town’s patron to make her children’s future secure.

With her meager income as seasonal farm worker, Remedios tried to provide for her children’s needs in school. But when Mar finished his elementary education, she could no longer send him to high school.

"I told him to stop in the meantime, so that his other siblings could continue their studies," his 48-year-old mother said.

But Mar would not give up. With Bassig’s help, he was able to enrol at the CSU high school in Piat and later served as the priest’s assistant.

"I thought at that time Mar will fulfill his father’s wish for him to become God’s servant," she said.

After Mar finished his two-year vocational course in 1998, he tried his luck in Manila and was hired as waiter at a restaurant in Barangay Ugong, Pasig City.

In 2000, a relative who was working in Saudi Arabia helped Mar apply as a waiter at the Oasis Hotel, the only five-star hotel in Al-Khobar. He was officially deployed in August of that year and worked as waiter for three years.

In January this year, he was promoted to chief cook of Oasis Hotel, whose cooks are mostly Filipinos. Three months later, he came home to attend the graduation of his youngest brother Benjie, who finished a course that trained him to work as a marine technician.

Mar also supported the education of his other brother Melanio, who took up a six-month course to be a diesel mechanic. His only sister, Rosemarie, finished a two-year computer technician course with his financial support.

When Mar visited his mother in Barangay Maguilling here last April, he decided to start the construction of a three-bedroom bungalow for her. Just before he returned to Al-Khobar, he promised to send her more money to complete the house.

He even swore that he would remain a bachelor so he could take care of his mother and look after the welfare of his siblings, Remedios said.

"It really hurts to lose a son you love so much," she said in between sobs. "Mar was the answer to my pleadings to Our Lady of Piat to secure my children’s future."

Mar’s wake, according to his mother, will be at the unfinished bungalow. He will be interred after nine days, following the tradition observed by his family.

His uncle, Piat police chief Inspector Rotillo Delaza, said Mar’s journey in this world was done, that his life had purpose.

"Mar’s life reveals to us the true meaning of love. He dedicated his life for the sake of his family without expecting anything in return," he said.

Meanwhile, party-list group Migrante said yesterday the government is incapable of ensuring the safety of OFWs in Saudi Arabia and Iraq and demanded their immediate repatriation.

"The deaths of three OFWs in Al-Khobar are enough reason to immediately pull out the Filipinos from Saudi Arabia and provide safer livelihood options in the Philippines," Migrante vice chairman John Monterona said in a statement. — with Mayen Jaymalin