Third Filipino killed in Riyadh bombings

Another Filipino worker was confirmed as among those killed in Monday’s car bomb attacks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.

The death of Serafin Hernandez brought to three the total number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) killed in the suicide attacks.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Virgilio Angelo said reports from Riyadh indicated the number of Filipinos injured in the blast reached 18, as of yesterday.

Angelo said all of those wounded had been declared out of danger. Four OFWs are still confined at the National Guard Hospital after undergoing minor surgery.

"Most of those injured were immediately released from the hospital after treatment for minor injuries and only four remained under confinement," Angelo said.

He said Philippine officials in Riyadh were working out an arrangement to ship the remains of the three workers back home.

Angelo, citing ongoing investigations of the blasts, admitted it could take a month before the remains could be shipped home.

"There were also unconfirmed reports that some of fatalities in the suicide blasts also bore gunshot wounds and all these investigations on the matter could delay (sending back) the remains of the Filipino workers," he said.

Angelo assured families of the blast victims that the Philippine government is exerting all efforts to ship back the remains of the three Filipino fatalities.

Angelo said OWWA is now processing the burial and other benefits for the families of the three OFWs. Each is expected to receive at least P70,000 insurance and burial benefits.

‘Not the last time’

Manila has alerted all diplomatic missions and labor offices in the Middle East to take precautionary measures to protect Filipino workers against new terror attacks.

The Saudi interior ministry reported yesterday that at least 34 people were killed in the suicide car bombings that devastated three expatriate compounds in Riyadh.

The British Foreign Office, however, reported out a lower figure of 29 fatalities while the US State Department estimated a higher number claiming at least 90 people perished in the blasts overnight Monday.

Saudi and US officials said the assassins shot their way into the three compounds and set off suicide car bombs in a coordinated overnight terror strike that had the "earmarks of al-Qaeda."

Philippine officials have been instructed to issue advisories to Filipino communities to maintain a high level of alertness, said Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople.

"We have already sent a circular to all our posts all over the world including the Middle East to take every possible precautions so that they are out of harm’s way," Ople said.

He warned that "this is not the last time that there will be a terrorist bombing in some parts of the world."

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Filipino workers are being targeted since they belong to a member of the "coalition of the willing," which supported the US-led war against Iraq.

"The members of the coalition of the willing are marked as enemies by terrorist groups," said Bishop Ramon Arguelles, chairman of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Migrants.

"Saudi Arabia should be one of the safest from terrorist attacks but the recent suicide bombings is a surprise. Like other countries in the world, Saudi Arabia is also now unsafe," Arguelles said.

Back home, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) highlighted the possibility that the Riyadh attacks could be linked to the spate of bombings that have rocked Mindanao recently.

According to AFP chief Gen. Narciso Abaya, the possibility was bolstered by reports on the presence and activities of suspected foreign terrorists with links to al-Qaeda in the Philippines.

Abaya said the Philippines was used as staging points of terror attacks several times in the past. - With Pia Lee-Brago, Mike Frialde, AFP