ORMOC City — Niño Alex Wenceslao and his partner Janet Patuar, along with their 10-month old daughter Alexa Jean, were on their way to Pilar town on Camotes Island for their church wedding after living together for five years.
But the simple wedding set today would not push through.
The couple and their daughter were among the passengers of MB Nirvana which capsized a kilometer away from the port of Ormoc past noon on Thursday.
Although the three survived, Wenceslao’s aunt Lourdes who was with them, was among the more than 40 people who died in the sea mishap. Gone was the wedding gown and polo barong that Patuar and Wenceslao were supposed to wear during their church wedding in Pilar, Patuar’s hometown.
“We are still mourning over her death. I think, we will wait for a while before we decide when we’ll have our wedding,” he said.
Wenceslao, 22 and a messenger at Luz Pharmacy in Ormoc, and Patuar, 23 who works as a cashier of a local store, have been living together for five years.
In September last year, the couple decided to get married but was postponed because Patuar got pregnant and was scheduled to give birth on Aug. 30.
“We scheduled our wedding this Saturday, July 4,” said Wenceslao.
This time, everything was set. The wedding would be held at the church in Pilar while the reception would be in the house of Patuar’s parents.
Their daughter would serve as their flower girl.
The couple, their daughter and six of Wenceslao’s relatives boarded MB Nirvana on Thursday, two days before the wedding, because the couple were scheduled to talk to the priest yesterday as part of the preparation.
Wenceslao recalled that he was holding on to their daughter when the boat suddenly capsized and they were all thrown into the sea.
“I was holding our baby so tight, afraid that I might lose her. Thanks God, all through out that time, we were together with my wife,” he said.
But Wenceslao was not a good swimmer.
A cousin, Giovanni Balane, 17, who could swim very well, took Alexa Jean from him and put the baby on top of the exposed wooden hull of the boat before Wenceslao could start losen his grip on his daughter.
It took about 30 minutes before they were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard and local rescue group.
Wenceslao and Alexa Jean were brought to the Ormoc Doctors Hospital after the baby swallowed a lot of seawater. /inquirer