By Roy Mabasa The three retired Filipino teachers who were earlier reported missing in China safely arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Sunday night. The three, Linda Varela Guce, Josefina Varela Baysic, and Pacita Varela De Guzman, said they had a connecting flight to the Philippines in Shanghai, but their flight was cancelled due to the inclement weather and ended up at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Hubei instead. Their niece, Djoanna Varela, said her aunts, all senior citizens, left John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Friday, August 9, 2019, aboard China Eastern Airlines flight MU 298. The said plane was supposed to arrive at 4:40 a.m. on Saturday, August 10, 2019, at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China. Varela said her three relatives were originally booked for a connecting flight via China Eastern flight MU 211 from Shanghai to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 7:05 p.m., on the same day. Varela earlier sought the help of President Duterte in locating the three missing retired teachers. At around 4 pm on August 17, Varela said her cousin Michael Anthony David, who works in Singapore, sent them a message through WhatsApp about the details he got from a friend in Shanghai regarding the China Eastern plane. They learned that the August 10 China Eastern flight number MU 211 did not land in Shanghai but instead in Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Hubei province. To their surprise, Varela claimed the China Eastern office Shanghai told them there was no hotel booking record for the concerned three passengers. On August 11, one of their relatives, Marlon David, who was at the NAIA Terminal 1 to fetch their aunts, received a Viber call at 2:12 am on Sunday from Linda Varela Guce using mobile number +639158458774 under the name of “Alzor” telling them that their flight was cancelled and they got stranded due to Typhoon Hanna. “Auntie Linda told Marlon to go home and will make updates about their rescheduled flight. She said that the airline is going to shoulder their hotel accommodation and meals. But no specific details were given as to their whereabouts and the name of the hotel they are going to stay in,” Varela narrated. Linda reportedly informed Marlon that she just used the phone of one of the stranded Filipino passengers whose name was not mentioned. Varela said they called up the China Eastern Airlines Shanghai customer care contacts +862195530 and +862162686268, but both numbers could not be reached. Another relative, Violeta Varela Dungo, who hosted the three in New Jersey, called up the China Eastern Airlines office in New York on August 13 to inquire about their whereabouts but was merely told to just leave a message. On August 15, Varela said Alta Dee David, the wife of Michael Anthony, informed the Philippine Consulate in Shanghai, China about the missing teachers.