Dubai: If it weren’t for typhoon Rammasun that hit the Philippines on Wednesday, the Gunawan family would not have boarded the doomed Flight MH17 on Thursday and would still be alive today, Dubai resident Ron Pabellon, the Gunawans’ nephew, said.
“They were supposed to fly on Wednesday, then fly from [Kuala Lumpur to Manila]. But they postponed it to the next day because of the typhoon,” Pabellon, 22, a baker, told Gulf News.
Pabellon lost his father’s younger sister, Irene, her Indonesian husband, Hadiono, whom he fondly called ‘Tito Budy’, both were in their 50s, and their two children, Darryl, 20, a disc jockey and student of medicine, and Sherryl, 15, a high school student.
They were flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on-board the Malaysian Airlines flight that was shot down in eastern Ukraine, close to the border with Russia.
“Tito Budy, since he worked with Malaysia Airlines, managed to get the family to fly on Thursday as chance passengers,” Pabellon said, adding that the family was on their way for the annual family reunion of the Pabellon clan in the Philippines on July 27.
“If they had taken the flight on Wednesday, they would have arrived home safely. If not for the typhoon, maybe they would still be with us today.”
Pabellon said his family has asked him to fly to the Netherlands to help repatriate the bodies. His father and Aunt Linda will be there as well. He had yet to secure his employer’s permission when Gulf News spoke with him.
Pabellon admitted that he has not come to terms with the Gunawans’ death yet.
“I refuse to believe the news. No matter what they say in the news that they’re already gone, I can’t make myself believe any of it because what happened to them was not fair.”
“My cousin Darryl was my best fried. He was my idol. He accomplished so many things in sport and music at such a young age,” Pabellon said, close to tears.
“He was supposed to come to Dubai in October after visiting his friend in Australia or Vietnam. We agreed I’d show him around.”
‘Second mum’
Pabellon said he and Darryl were partners in crime when they were young. They always played tricks on their cousins, sometimes even writing on their faces when they were asleep.
As for his aunt, Pabellon said: “We were very, very close. She was like a second mum to me. We’d talk every day on Skype about anything, even trivial things.”
Pabellon said the Gunawans were a generous family. They come home to the Philippines whenever possible to spend time with the whole family, take them places around the country, and give them a treat.
“The best thing they did was to support the education all the first born nieces and nephews in the family. Then they’d urge them to pay it forward by sending their younger brothers and sisters to school once they’re able and working.”
