Pinay mom’s death galvanizes California community
LONG BEACH, California—On the eve of Mother’s Day here, the sons and daughters of the Filipino diaspora in this part of America are preparing a parade to honor the life of an illegal im+migrant mother and widow from Manila killed by a hit-and-run driver last year.
Friends and community activists gathered on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning in Manila) at the Filipino Migrant Center (FMC) along Burnett Avenue here to remember Lorna Escusa, a 75-year-old Filipina caregiver, the victim of a hit-and-run last Sept. 4, on her way to the St. Lucy Catholic Church at the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and 23rd Street.
“Lorna was going to Mass that morning when the accident happened. Such a tragic fate for a member of our faith community,” said Fr. Budi Wardhana, the pastor at St. Lucy where some of the 20,000 Filipino immigrants in this city come to worship.
Wardhana visited Escusa as she lay comatose at St. Mary’s Hospital. It was the immigrant Catholic priest from Indonesia who administered the last rites to her.
Cause célèbre
“My heart broke when I learned that she had died. I was devastated,” said Nanette Apacible, a retired nurse and Escusa’s best friend.
Escusa’s death became a cause célèbre for a community made unsafe by disappearing street lighting and broken street signs which activists claim were responsible for her untimely death.
They say the money that should have been used for public infrastructure is being diverted to build sporting arenas for the 2028 Olympics.
“We deserve the right to confidently walk in our streets without fear for our lives,” said Theresa Jaranilla, one of the FMC officials.
As part of their call, they demand from city officials the immediate repair of old and neglected road infrastructure that endanger lives and limbs of the citizens here.
Immigration crackdown
Escusa’s death has also galvanized the local Filipino community that is already threatened—some to the point of being traumatized—by the shadowy arrests of immigrants across America on orders of President Donald Trump with his policy of mass deportations.
The FMC’s unimposing office has become a sanctuary of sorts for Filipino TNTs (tago nang tago) migrants who are victims of human trafficking and illegal labor practices like wage theft and nonpayment of overtime work.
On this Friday afternoon, youthful volunteers at the center are preparing to honor the memory of Escusa for a parade on the eve of Mother’s Day.
Sacrifices for family
“She was a mother. That is all I need to know,” said 20-year-old Matthew Samar, one of the volunteers, driving the last nail to a placard he will use on Saturday’s parade.
“I think of my own mom as we celebrate her,” Samar said.
“She (Escusa) was living alone here in America. She was working hard every day to provide for her two sons and their families back in Manila,” added the 70-year-old Apacible, who hails from Kawit, Cavite province.
Boxes ready
After retiring as an employee of the Pag-Ibig Fund in Manila, Escusa got a visitor’s visa to the United States and arrived in California 11 years ago.
She overstayed her visa and started working as a caregiver to the elderly, earning decently by sometimes working around the clock, according to Apacible.
“Lorna was the ultimate testament of how a mother sacrifices for her loved ones. Her monthly remittances paid for her two sons, Michael and Jade, to finish their education,” Apacible said.
She said her friend—whose husband died in Manila in 2022 —had become increasingly despondent and miserable.
She was also fearful that she could be deported if Donald Trump wins the presidential elections, Apacible said.
Escusa’s death on that fateful September morning made all that immaterial.
After her remains were cremated, her friends went to her rented apartment to prepare all the things she had accumulated from working for 10 years in America.
They were surprised to find her belongings all bundled in balikbayan boxes that had been neatly piled up.
She was ready to go home.
