No sweet text from my husband that day

MANILA, Philippines – The day may have started like any other day, but for three families, their lives were changed forever that fateful Friday.

She anxiously waited for his usual text messages, and when none came, ominous thoughts crossed her mind about her husband. 

Louella talked about the dread that she felt when she received not a single text message that Friday morning from her husband Bernardo Lapaan Jr., 41, assistant operations manager of the RCBC branch in Cabuyao, Laguna.

Bernardo was one of the nine fatalities in the RCBC robbery. Unidentified men shot the victims in the head execution-style.

“It was his habit to text me and even my children sweet messages daily, and for every message he sent, he never forgets to add ‘I love you.’ But last Friday, I got nervous when I didn’t receive even one message from him,” Louella recalled.

A full-time housewife, Louella said she was in the house when she received news of the bloody heist.

“It came to me as a shock. I never imagined such things to happen to him, to our family. I felt something heavy inside my chest when I learned of what happened to him,” a teary-eyed Louella said.

She also expressed rage at the brutality of the robbers.

“Before, what they do is they just target the bank’s security guard and afterwards, get the money and immediately leave. No one inside a bank is safe anymore,” she said.

Louella said their children are trying to cope with the tragedy and their eldest, a 16-year-old girl, is the most affected.

“She was also used to receiving daily text messages from her dad who we will always remember as a sweet and loving father,” Louella said. They also have two boys, a 14-year-old and a five-year-old.

Bernard, who just finished law school at the Perpetual Help College, was very passionate about his work. “He was also preparing for the Bar exams in September and was attending review classes,” Louella said, pointing out that even if Bernard already had a family of his own, he was still caring and helpful to his parents and siblings.

“I just hope that the authorities will be able to do something concrete about the incident. We just want justice and for similar incidents not to happen again,” Louella said.

“There are so many things that should be considered here, like the security of bank employees, why bank robberies have been getting frequent and what concerned officials can do to prevent tragedies like this from taking place,” she said.

Ellen Robles, 37, a friend of Bernard who works for another bank, said she and her colleagues were greatly troubled by the tragedy because Bernard was their friend and they might be facing the same danger.

“We fear for our safety. Something like this may happen again if authorities will not be vigilant,” Robles added.

The family of another victim, Benjamin Nicdao Jr., was grief-stricken and outraged.

“I hope authorities get to the bottom of this. I hope those responsible for this will be punished,” Benjamin’s widow Sheila, 41, said. Sheila works as a manager for another bank also in Laguna.

She recalled that Benjamin, 41, was not in his uniform on Friday because it was the bank employees’ “wash day.” She said she found it strange that Benjamin stared at his white barong uniform shortly before they left the house.

“I noticed that he was looking at his office uniform which is a white barong but did not say anything about it,” she said.

“It was around 9 a.m. when someone called me in the office saying something bad happened at the said RCBC branch,” she said.

Sheila said she got hysterical and rushed to the site only to be stopped by police from going inside the bank.

“I will miss him so much. I’m used to doing things with him. We are always together. He is my best friend,” she said.

She and her husband had plans for their 13th wedding anniversary on June 25.

The couple has two children, a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy.

From the Funeraria Paz at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City, Benjamin’s remains will be moved to the couple’s house in Biñan, Laguna.

Showing up early to do business with the bank proved fatal for Ferdinand Antonio, 31.

His widow Maria Ela recalled that after learning of the bank robbery, she kept on praying and hoping that Ferdinand was not one of the victims.

“I was waiting for my turn for the x-ray procedure because we are having our annual physical exam in the office when somebody told me the bad news. I rushed to the bank but policemen also prevented me from going inside,” Ela recalled.

She said it was unfortunate that her husband had to face a gruesome death.

Ela works in the production department of Ivoclar Vivadent, a dental company for which Ferdinand worked as liaison officer. The company transacts regularly with the RCBC branch in Cabuyao.