KAWIT, Cavite, Philippines鈥擟arissa Camigan regretted that she didn鈥檛 push enough to have Michaella Andrea Caimol, 7, with her family during the holidays.
鈥淚f only she stayed with us, she would still be alive,鈥� Camigan said Saturday as she held out a new, white dress she had bought for her聽 granddaughter.
鈥淎t least, for the last time, she鈥檇 be wearing something nice,鈥� she said.
Michaella, 7, a tricycle driver鈥檚 daughter, was one of the victims in the shooting spree of drug-crazed Ronald Bae on Friday morning.
Her siblings, Ken Cedric, 3, and KC, 2, survived but remained confined with gunshot wounds in the Philippine General Hospital in Manila.
The Caimols, except for the children鈥檚 parents who are in the hospital, were gathered in their tumbledown shanties as they prepared for Michaella鈥檚 wake.
They planned to hold the wake on a vacant lot in the neighborhood, because 鈥渙ur home is too small,鈥� said their aunt Maita Lacorte.
The family believed Michaella鈥檚 wake was the only one for the shooting victims that had not been set up as of Saturday noon because the funeral home in town had run out of coffins and there was none for the girl.
The bodies of two-month pregnant Rhea de Vera, 34, and her 3-year-old daughter, Jan Monica were taken to a relative鈥檚 home in Noveleta town, Cavite province, the neighbors said.
Camigan, who lives in Carmona town, Cavite, said Michaella had called her about spending Christmas vacation with her.
鈥淪he was telling me she鈥檇 still want to go to [Carmona] even after the New Year, but I don鈥檛 why [she didn鈥檛],鈥� Lacorte said.
Lacorte said she and seven others, including four children, fled their homes as Bae, a former barangay official, roamed the streets shooting people when she realized that the Caimol children were still in their house.
鈥淏ut what could we do? We could not go back because [Bae] would come after us. I heard the shots and the children鈥檚 screams,鈥� she said.
Lacorte said her group ran to a field and pleaded with residents in the subdivision there to let them in.
鈥淎s we ran, I covered the children with cogon and told them not to make any noise. They cried quietly,鈥� she said.
The Caimol children鈥檚 other grandmother, Aniolina Caimol, said Michaella loved to dance and play with her siblings.
鈥淲e even had some sort of a Christmas party here where they danced a lot,鈥� she said.
Not far from the Caimols was the wake for 43-year-old tricycle driver Boyet Toledo.
On Friday morning, Toledo took his wife Polcida, 38, a laundrywoman, to her job before driving back to Barangay Tabon I to drop off another passenger.
Witnesses said Toledo was about to buy cigarettes from a store when Bae saw and shot him in the leg.
鈥淪ome said he fell to the ground and the gunman fired a second shot to [Toledo鈥檚] back,鈥� Toledo鈥檚 cousin Candy del Mundo, 28, said.
The second bullet went through Toledo鈥檚 heart.
Toledo left behind two sons, aged 14 and 8. Polcida Toledo said her husband was sweet and caring and they called each other 鈥渟weetheart.鈥�
鈥淥ur earnings were just enough for the family. Now that he鈥檚 gone, I don鈥檛 know what will happen to us,鈥� she said.
鈥淢y cousin was a good man. We know, if he were here today, he鈥檇 not hold a grudge against [Bae]. But that鈥檚 hard for us to do,鈥� Del Mundo said.