Gov’t repatriates another batch of OFW remains from Saudi

FILE: Mortuary personnel carry the cadavers of dead overseas Filipino workers from Saudi Arabia at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday (July 19, 2020). (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – Another batch of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who died from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and other causes in Saudi Arabia arrived Sunday in Pasay City.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the arrival of the remains of some 88 OFWs is part of the mass repatriation program of the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) amid the pandemic.

Cacdac said the government shoulders all expenses for the repatriation process of the deceased OFWs.

Of the 88 remains, 28 are OFWs from Dammam, 11 from Jeddah, and 39 from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

Cacdac said OWWA accounted for 48 OFWs who died due to Covid-19.

“May iilan sa kanila ay Covid-related, may iilan na hindi pero (Some of them are Covid-related, some are not but) rest assured, we are all compliant with the DOH’s and the government’s quarantine regulations,” he said in an interview.

The caskets containing the remains of the deceased OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) around 1 p.m. embarking Philippine Airlines flight PR-683 from Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

About 90 percent of the dead bodies will be cremated immediately with consent from the OFWs’ relatives, Cacdac said.

Most of them, he said, are from Visayas and Mindanao.

Cacdac said those relatives who refused to cremate their deceased families are allowed to bury the bodies within 24 hours and should not conduct public viewing during burial.

Government officials led by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III conducted a blessing ceremony and heroes’ welcome for the repatriated workers.

OWWA has already made arrangements with crematoriums to handle the remains and the bodies will be immediately transported for cremations, Cacdac said.

Assistance for families

Meanwhile, Cacdac said the immediate families of the deceased OFWs will receive financial assistance and other benefits from DOLE and OWWA.

“Lahat ng pamilya ng mga nasawi ay makakatanggap cash assistance mula sa DOLE, OWWA at meron din pong insurance at OWWA benefits ang kanilang pamilya nang sang-ayon po sa batas (All the families of the deceased OFWs will receive cash assistance from DOLE and OWWA, and their families will also receive insurance and OWWA benefits as provided by the law), he said.

The immediate families will receive a basic financial package amounting to PHP20,000, Cacdac said, while OWWA members will receive death and burial benefits with a college scholarship for OFW dependents.

“Ang active OWWA members ay makakatanggap ng humigit-kumulang PHP300,000 kasama yung scholarship (Active OWWA members will receive more or less PHP300,000 along with the scholarship),” he added, noting that OWWA will continue to help the grieving families of the fallen OFWs.

On the other hand, Bello said the government expects to repatriate another one or two batches of OFWs who died while working abroad.

“Ito ay pangalawa pa lamang na pagpapauwi natin sa mga namatay na bagong bayani at siguro, in two or four days may pangatlo na naman yan, dahil marami pang naiwan, actually may 274, nabawasan na ng 46 tapos ngayon 8,8 marami-rami na yan. Siguro dalawa pang byahe, maiiuwi na natin lahat yung mga namatay nating mga bagong bayani (This is just our second batch of repatriation for our OFWs and maybe in two or four more days, we expect the third batch since there are several others left which were reduced by 46, and now 88. I guess two more flights and we will be able to repatriate all the OFWs),” Bello said.

Heroes’ welcome

During the ceremonial “heroes’ welcome” for the deceased OFWs, Locsin said the DFA is grieving the deaths of OFWs, especially those who died amid the pandemic.

“Beyond the tragedy we mark, this day is a reaffirmation of the [President Rodrigo] Duterte administration’s commitment not just to recognize the contribution but to match it with commensurate care for OFWs, whose remains when they have given last full measure of devotion to family back home must be taken back for the last honors no Filipino forego. To honor the dead is to honor ourselves,” he said.

Locsin offered prayers to the deceased OFWs and praised them for their contributions and sacrifices.

“We also honor the families and loved ones they left behind, those who must bravely live bearing the burden of unfathomable grief and extreme uncertainty,” Locsin said, adding that the government has been mounting exclusive repatriation flights for the fallen workers.

Project AKAP

Bello, meanwhile, said the government continues to implement the DOLE-AKAP cash assistance program which provides financial support to displaced land-based and sea-based Filipino workers hard-hit by the health crisis.

He said OFWs stranded abroad are provided with USD200 cash assistance, while those already repatriated in the country receive PHP10,000 with free accommodation.

The government, he said, will also shoulder their transportation to their respective provinces alongside assistance for the new “reintegration program” of the labor department.

Under DOLE’s reintegration program, Bello said repatriated OFWs are being prioritized during the profiling so that they could be easily considered in the alternative employment such as the construction and BPO industries.

He said nearly 200,000 OFWs have already received cash aid through the DOLE-AKAP program.

Bello, meanwhile, reiterated the Duterte’s commitment to assist OFWs in any means.

“Yung commitment natin ay ang commitment ng ating pangulo na lahat ng ating mga OFWs ay palaging inaalagaan, tinitingnan ang kanilang mga kapakan at tinitiyak natin na hindi po maaapi, maaagrabyado ang ating mga OFWs (Our commitment is to pursue our President’s commitment to always take care of our OFWs, look after their welfare and make sure they’re not oppressed and aggrieved),” he said.