American coming for fiancee’s funeral

CEBU, Philippines - "He was devastated, he cried and he just wanted to hear her voice for the last time while on the phone."

That was how US Navy James felt and reacted when he learned that his fiancée, Cristy Marie Estella, 18, died after a car rammed into her and her classmates in Poblacion, Boljoon, Cebu Thursday afternoon.

Cecilio Estella, 48, said James was originally scheduled to fly to Cebu on March 7 to see his daughter, Cristy Marie.

James, Cecilio said, now wants to come the soonest, initially saying he would arrive yesterday, but the American could not immediately get a flight Thursday, the day of the accident.

James is rebooking his ticket so he could see Cristy before she is laid to rest; Cecilio, though, said he has yet to receive confirmation on James' arrival.

Cecilio narrated that before she died, Cristy told him that her, him, and her mother Jocelyn would fetch James together at the airport when he comes on March 7.

Now, Cristy would no longer be there, and James would be coming heartbroken for Cristy's funeral.

Cecilio learned that Cristy met an accident from his brother-in-law, who was shouting from far away while Cecilio was on top of a coconut tree.

"Naa ko sa taas sa lubi kay mananggot nakadungog na man kog naay nagsangpit manoy manoy pauli diri (I was gathering coconut wine when my brother-in-law came shouting for me to climb down and go home)," he said.

Cecilio said never suspected something was amiss, and did not imagine that it was for him to know that his daughter, whom they hoped would bring them out of poverty, has been killed.

Cristy died hours after she was rushed to Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City.

 "Sakit gyud sir, di lalim ang pag-alima nako ana niya (It was very painful. I took good care of her)," Cecilio told The FREEMAN.

He said that the family looked to Cristy to help send her brothers and her sister to college.

"Ilang giputol ang kaugmaon sa akong anak (They destroyed her future)," Cecilio said of medical representatives Al-Dhinier Hadjula Sanaani, who drove the Toyota Vios Sedan, and Kristine Joyce Batucan, who owned the vehicle.

Sanaani and Batucan were also injured during the accident, which claimed the lives of Cristy and her classmates Judy Ann Lomera and Joanne Marie Romero.

A teary-eyed Cecilio said he would seek justice for his daughter's death and would press charges against Sanaani.

He would not accept offers of amicable settlement from Sanaani, saying "bisa'g bubo-an pa nila og kwarta akong anak dili pa paigo (even if they would pour money on us it would not be enough)."

Christine Joy, 16, said her elder sister wanted to tell her something that day, but that she told her to go home first because she still had classes.

Now, Christine said, she would never know what Cristy would have liked to say to her.

Insp. Dexter Basirgo, Boljoon police chief, said Sanaani will be facing three counts of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and three more counts of reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries. /RHM (FREEMAN)