‘Papa, don’t worry you’ll soon be free’

ALCALA, Pangasinan — "Papa, I love you. ’Wag kang mag-alala, makakalaya ka rin. Ipagdadasal ka namin na makalaya ka na (Don’t worry, you will soon be free. We will pray that you will be released.)"

These were the words of eight-year-old May Ann Gasmen to her father Primo, who was sentenced to be beheaded in Saudi Arabia in January 2003 for the 1998 killing of a Nepalese co-worker.

A ray of hope for the Gasmen family is the fund-raising drive being spearheaded by Bishop Ramon Arguelles of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for the $15,000 (about P780,000) "blood money" or diyah which Filipino embassy officials are negotiating with the family of victim Khim Bahadur Gurung.

"Sana po may tumulong sa amin (I hope people will help us)," appealed 10-year-old Maynard, the eldest of Gasmen’s three children (the youngest is seven-year-old Rosely Ann, a Grade 1 pupil).

Both Maynard and May Ann, in Grades 4 and 3, respectively, at the Alcala Central School here, told The STAR that only prayers are keeping them strong. They recalled their mother Rowena telling them about their father’s ordeal in 1999.

Life has changed drastically for the Gasmen children since their father was arrested and detained for the killing. Gasmen, 32, left for Saudi Arabia in 1995 to work for Al Rajhl, a trading company, hoping to give his family a comfortable life. Barely three years into the job, he was promoted to supervisory level.

Until the tragedy happened. Now Maynard and May Ann are being sent to school by their maternal grandma, Epifania Domantay, 58, who lives with them. But their lola is also hard-up.

Their youngest sibling, Rosely Ann, has been staying with a relative in Dagupan City since their mother has become busy following up their father’s case in Manila and working as a househelp in a relative’s home in Pasay City.

"Mabait po ang Papa namin. Mahal na mahal niya kami (Our father is good man. He loves us so much)," said Maynard, recalling that his father’s last gift to him was a toy car and to May Ann’s a Barbie doll.

Bishop Arguelles, who heads the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, said any amount will "definitely mean a big thing" to the Gasmens.

"A new hope. A new beginning. A new life. Indeed, a light at the end of the tunnel for the poor family of an OFW (overseas Filipino worker), heralded as the country’s modern-day hero," he said.

Alcala Mayor Juanito Collado said they will also initiate "Piso para kay Primo" by placing boxes or tin cans for donations in strategic places around this municipality, Gasmen’s hometown.

Collado also pledged to write different organizations to solicit help for the Gasmens.

Gasmen’s brother Amado, a barangay councilman here, has sought the assistance of fifth district Rep. Mark Cojuangco who, in turn, promised to help in whatever way he can.