By EUNICE del ROSARIO (dreunice@gdn.com.bh) "I AM surviving." Three words which say so much from Filipina Pamela Belardo, who survived, but lost her husband in the Al Dana dhow disaster. The young widow is still coming to terms with the reality that she will spend the rest of her life without her husband, Norman.
Soon after the incident, 27-year-old Ms Belardo suffered a new tragedy, miscarrying what was to be their first and only child.
A year to the day since the dhow disaster, she is still grieving for the "perfect husband" she says she could never replace.
"I’m surviving, my situation isn’t easy but I am surviving the best way I can," Ms Belardo told the GDN, in her first Press interview since the disaster.
She was speaking as she left Davao, Mindanao, southern Philippines, to spend the anniversary of her husband’s death with his parents in Manila.
"It is hard to get over Norman, because he was just so perfect for me," said Ms Belardo.
"He was a very good husband, provider and best friend.
"Marrying him was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.
"One year has passed and I still haven’t removed any of his things from our house here in the Philippines, because I do not have the heart to.
"I decided I will display all his things until justice is served."
Mr Belardo was working as a DJ on board the ill-fated Al Dana dhow and took his wife, who was three months pregnant, as his guest.
Fifty-eight people died when the dhow capsized on March 30, during a party organised by joint venture contractor Nass, Murray & Roberts to celebrate completion of concreting work on the Bahrain World Trade Centre.
Ms Belardo accompanied her husband’s body to the Philippines in April last year and suffered the miscarriage two months later.
"Our baby was a boy. I named him after his father, Norman," she said, speaking out for the first time since the tragedy.
"I was approached by many reporters, even here in the Philippines, but I told them no because I wanted to grieve first and then, I wanted to find out what was happening in the Bahrain court," she said.
"I want justice to be done and I hope my speaking out for the first time will make people remember all those who lost their lives.
"These were people who had families who loved them very much and now their lives are shattered.
"This accident, which ruined many families, should never have happened.
" Mr Belardo, aged 40, was a popular bass player and DJ in Bahrain who used to play with Filipino band Advent Call.
He was also a member of the non-profit organisation Triskelion International Kingdom of Bahrain (TIKOB).
He also left behind two children, aged nine and 14, from a previous marriage.
Ms Belardo’s Bahraini lawyer is following up the case here in her absence.
"I am in touch with my lawyer and I am hoping that some sort of compensation would be paid to the victims’ families and the survivors," she said.
"I hope this case will not drag on for much longer. "Whatever financial help, anything we can get will be appreciated.
"Norman’s children are just two of the many sons and daughters who have lost a parent in this tragedy.
"We are just surviving day to day.
"I left Bahrain with just the money my husband and I saved up and donations from various people and charity organisations.
"I couldn’t even put my husband in a casket because it was too expensive, so we had him cremated."
Ms Belardo, who is currently working in sales to help support her husband’s children, said she had no plans to return to Bahrain to work.
Mr and Ms Belardo met in Bahrain in 2002 and married here the following year.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=175048&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30010
Payout plea for children By EUNICE del ROSARIO (dreunice@gdn.com.bh)
ONE of three Filipino wives of a Filipino DJ, who worked on the ill-fated Al Dana dhow, is now consulting with lawyers on how her two children could receive
compensation following the death of their father.
Marian Belardo, who came forward earlier this month claiming to be Norman Belardo’s second wife, had initially said she would not seek any legal assistance or
compensation from Bahrain courts on her children’s behalf.
However, further reading of reports on the case online had prompted the mother to consider speaking with lawyers after she said she realised her children, aged 12 and
seven, were "the only legal dependants" of Mr Belardo.
The 40-year-old DJ died along with 57 others when the dhow capsized off the coast of Muharraq on March 30 last year.
He had taken his 26-year-old pregnant wife Pamela onboard the boat as a guest, but she survived the accident after being pulled from the sea by rescuers.
She miscarried what was supposed to be her first child three months later in the Philippines.
In her first interview with the GDN in March this year, Pamela said she had already hired a Bahraini lawyer to follow up compensation claims she had filed as her
husband’s dependant and as a dhow survivor.
However, Marian warned that Pamela may not get anything as her husband’s dependant because she and the other woman were not his legal wives.
Sources in Manila confirmed that Mr Belardo was first married to another woman, whose name was not disclosed for legal reasons, in 1986.
Marian married Mr Belardo in 1993 without any knowledge of the first wife. Mr Belardo then married Pamela in Bahrain in 2003.
"I was his wife for 10 years until he left for Bahrain in 2003," she told the GDN from her home in Paranaque City, south of Manila.
"We have two children, both of whom he stopped supporting since he left our family. He basically abandoned his children two years before the tragedy."
Marian said she only found out about her former husband’s first wife in 2005, which prompted her to file for annulment in the Philippines’ Family Court.
The annulment was approved six months before Mr Belardo’s death.
However, she says she only found out he had married again in Bahrain after reading coverage of the tragedy in the GDN.
"I didn’t know about Pamela until he died," said Marian.
"I wonder if she knows she is not his legal wife. To be honest, I doubt she does. He hid the fact he was married before he married me."
The GDN was unable to reach Pamela, who is now living in Davao, Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, despite several attempts.
Her cousin, who is based in Bahrain, said it had always been Pamela’s intention to give whatever compensation the court grants victims’ dependants to Mr Belardo’s two
children.
Pamela had said she met Mr Belardo in Bahrain in 2002 and they were married here the following year.
Under Philippine law, a Filipino national cannot get divorced.
Filipino couples are able to file for legal separation or apply for annulment in court, which could take years to be approved.
However, foreigners or former Filipino nationals who file for divorce overseas do have the divorce recognised under Philippine law.
"I have now consulted with my lawyers and am currently in the process of gathering more information before coming up with a firm decision to pursue any legal claims,"
said Marian.
"It still is an intention of mine to come out not because of any financial rewards, but rather to let people know that we do not take ’scams’ sitting down," she said
referring to claims she said were made by Pamela that she had been supporting Mr Belardo’s two children.
She added that she might give the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain special power of attorney to follow up the case in Bahrain on her children’s behalf.
Mr Belardo was a popular bass player and DJ in Bahrain, who used to play with Filipino band Advent Call.
He was also a member of the non-profit organisation Triskelion International Kingdom of Bahrain. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=186131&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30097
SHERATON Hotel and Gulf Hotel lead the way in the Second RIA’s Cup Inter Hotel Charity Basketball Tournament with five wins and one loss records and are already assured of a semi-final berth.
