ILOILO CITY-"Si Mama nagkadto sa heaven. Gindala ni Papa Jesus (Mother is in heaven. She was brought by Papa Jesus)," 3-year-old Jules Archangel Dunca kept saying to his grandmother Edna Aboboto.

The boy was oblivious to the grief in their household and said he hopes his mother will bring many toys when she comes home.

He is excited to show her his achievement ribbons in nursery school, including those for best in Math, honesty, being active and well-groomed.

But his mother Queenie Aboboto-Dunca is among the many overseas Filipino workers who will come home in a casket.

Queenie, 31, was among the 57 people who drowned last week after a tourist boat taking passengers on a dinner cruise capsized off Bahrain on the Persian Gulf. The Al-Dana was carrying 137 people on board, mostly foreigners.

Two other Filipinos died and another is still missing. Seven others were rescued, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The family is still waiting for notice from the DFA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration about the repatriation of Queenie's remains. Neighbors and relatives have flocked to the family residence in Barangay Dulonan in Arevalo District here to console the family.

"She was so generous and helpful that is why she was loved by her friends and our neighbors," Queenie's 51-year-old mother Edna Aboboto said, breaking into tears.

Queenie left for Bahrain on January 4 leaving her job of 10 years as a clerk at the permits and licensing division at the Iloilo City Hall. She also worked in the guidance counseling office of a school and as a sales lady in a department store after she finished her psychology course at the University of San Agustin in Iloilo City.

"As a single mother, she wanted to earn more to ensure a better future for her son," her cousin and close friend Ma. Cheque Nales, said. "She wanted to show that she can raise her son on her own despite many sacrifices and hardships."

Queenie's family is dependent on her earnings and that of her Father, Roldan who works as a janitor at the Central Bank Office in Iloilo City.

I am leaving not for myself but for my son and our family," Queenie told her mother before she left.

She first worked as a tutor for the children of a Bahraini couple in the middle of January. But she left her job after about two weeks because her employer berated her and did not treat the children well.

The agency that hired her, Fil-HR, offered to provide her with a job on the leisure boat. Edna said Queenie started working on the boat on Feb. 23 and assisting students who were on tour.

When she last called her mother on March 27, Queenie was excited about the prospects of earning more this summer. "She was expecting more tourists, which would mean more tips. She promised to send us money," said Edna.

Queenie had also wanted to help finish the construction of their two-bedroom bungalow when she has paid off her debts.

"Neneng (Queenie's nickname) had many plans, especially for her son and for us and I can't understand why this happened," Edna said.*NPB

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