Bodies of OFWs to be repatriated from Middle East

MANILA, Philippines – The bodies of 3 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who recently died in the Middle East are set to be repatriated, separate government agencies said Friday, March 20. Two of the 3 OFWs died in a car accident in Oman. A 3rd OFW died in Bahrain at the airport, and worked in Saudi Arabia.

Geraldine Decena Apuntar, a household service worker, was killed in a road accident in Oman last January 22. “She was hit by a car when she was crossing the highway in the area of Ruwi, Muscat,” announced the labor department.

Another OFW deployed in Oman, Uriel Mortel Bocit, also died after the ambulance he was riding as a nurse rammed against a parked truck.

Both were deployed to the Arab country in January. The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Oman helped arrange the shipment of their remains.

“We have already requested for a speedy investigation of these road mishaps and have informed the victims’ families through their recruitment agencies,” said Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa. 

Being registered members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), their families are eligible to receive OWWA member-benefits.

The OWWA also announced on Friday “necessary assistance” to be “extended to the family of an OFW who died in a clinic in Bahrain airport while on his way home to the Philippines.”

The agency did not reveal the migrant workers’ name but said he is a 37-year-old resident of Santiago City, Isabela who worked as a scaffolder in a Saudi refinery company.

“An  active OWWA member at the time of death, his family is eligible to avail of  death and burial benefits in the amount of P120,000.00 if the cause of death is natural, and P220,000.00 if the cause of death is due to accident,” the agency said.

“Moreover, psycho-social counseling will also be extended to the family of the victim to at least cushion the impact of  the demise of  their loved one,” it added.

OWWA Administrator Rebecca Calzado said she will coordinate with the POLO in Jeddah to have the workers’ remains repatriated.

Paralyzed OFW already repatriated

Likewise, the labor department said a 34-year-old household service worker has safely returned home after months of hospital transfers and confinement in a “paralyzed” state.

Deployed to Sulaibiya, Kuwait, Maricel Magpale-Mortera “was successfully repatriated and reunited with her family in Villasis, Pangasinan” with the help of the POLO in Kuwait.

Labor Attaché Cesar Chavez, Jr said Mortera was first admitted last October 27 at the Jubail General Hospital in Saudi Arabia and transferred from one hospital to another thereafter.

She returned to her hometown in Pangasinan last January 21, advised for hospital admission and continued medication.

Mortera’s condition was made known to the Jamykha International Placement Services, her local recruitment agency, through the Facebook account of a certain Ms. Lilybeth (Chai) Cabanatan.

A recent study by the University of Southern California (USC) said technology-based networking services for OFWs must be developed “so they can connect with their support networks while abroad.” (READ: Tech-based services needed to protect OFWs – research)

The Philippines is a known labor-sending country, with over 10 million Filipinos either temporarily working or permanently residing abroad. OFWs’ remittances comprise more than a tenth of the country’s gross national income.

President Benigno Aquino III, however, envisions “a government that creates jobs at home so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity.” – Rappler.com