When Maria Celestina Gabat sent off her husband Elmer for his night shift as a motorcycle-taxi driver last May 28, she expected to hear the familiar rumble of his vehicle in front of their Quezon City home around 6:00 a.m. the next morning, which is is always the routine.
Celestina never imagined it would be her other half’s final ride as the morning after would break the news of his husband’s passing due to a fatal accident.
Elmer, the breadwinner of the Gabat family, was among three people killed in a deadly multivehicular collision along Batasan-San Mateo Road last May 28.
According to Celestina, Elmer was out for work when the accident happened.
“Bale po ang asawa ko ay nagtatrabaho as motorcycle rider, every night, nagba-biyahe siya, umiikot-ikot siya dito sa QC para magbiyahe sya. Nung time na yun almost 10:30pm siya umalis ng bahay namin… tapos yun po kinabukasan paggising ko bale nagtaka lang po ako bakit di pa siya umuuwi dapat 6:00 am nasa bahay na siya,” a teary-eyed Celestina narrated.
It was Elmer’s habit to message or call his wife during the stretch of his shift to let her know where he was. That night, however, no updates came.
“Nagtaka lang po ako noong umaga which is 7:30am na hindi pa dumadating doon lang po ako nagtaka, medyo kinabahan, at the same time, hindi sya naka-online seven hours ago hindi naman po siya ganoon,” Celestina said, citing the eerie feelings she sensed prior to the heartbreaking news.
Celestina’s calls were left unanswered until someone else picked up his husband’s phone, saying that Elmer was gone, forever.
The sudden loss left Celestina not only in grief but in crushing financial distress. With no job and two children to support, she had no means to shoulder the funeral expenses.
Celestina sought help from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), she received a guarantee letter to help with her husband’s funeral needs.
The AICS is one of the social protection services of the DSWD that provides medical, burial, transportation, education, food, or financial assistance to individuals who are in crisis.
“Ang inilapit ko po sa DSWD is matulungan po ako sa funeral assistance, kasi medyo malaki po ang kailangang bayaran sa punerarya,” Celestina said, adding that the aid lifted at least one heavy burden during her most difficult days.
While no amount of aid cannot replace the breadwinner and father the Gabat family lost, Celestina said the help she received from the DSWD gave her the means to say goodbye to her husband in the best way possible.
Celestina said the DSWD’s support lifted their family’s immediate financial burden, allowing her to grieve instead of being consumed by the cost of laying her husband to rest.
“Ako po ay nagpapasalamat sa DSWD nakuha ko na po ang guarantee letter malaking tulong po ito sa pagpapalibing sa aking asawa. Maraming, maraming salamat po sa DSWD,” Celestina said.
The AICS Chronicles is an online program of the DSWD hosted by Media Relations Officer Mel Cabigting of the Traditional Media Service (TMS). It airs every other Monday via the DSWD Facebook page, featuring real-life stories of individuals and families who were able to overcome financial challenges through the help of the agency’s AICS. (LSJ)
