OFW family agrees to bury 'wrong' cadaver

MANILA, Philippines - After failing to get the remains of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Danniel Ubungen, his family decided to give a decent burial to the cadaver sent to them in its place.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday said that the family of Ubungen opted to bury the body believed to be that of a co-worker of their relative.

“After looking into the repatriation of the wrong cadaver, we were told that Ubungen’s wife agreed to forgo her request for the shipment of the remains of her husband,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

Baldoz said the OFW’s family withdrew the request for shipment of his remains after learning that his body had already been interred.

“Considering that the remains of her husband had been buried according to Muslim traditions, she agreed to bury the foreigner who was mistakenly repatriated as her husband,” she said.

The Philippine embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia sent home last June a cadaver believed to be that of Ubungen.

Ubungen and his two other co-workers were killed in an acetylene explosion in Saudi Arabia.

Based on established protocol, Baldoz said the Philippine embassy has jurisdiction over the identification of the bodies of Filipino workers before their repatriation.

“We are not aware of their procedure in the sealing and repatriation of the cadaver, so until this time, we still do not know how the wrong cadaver was sent home,” Baldoz said.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Carmelita Dimzon said Ubungen’s family would be getting some P220,000 death and burial benefits as a legal OWWA member.

Dimzon added that Ubungen’s child would also get a scholarship grant from OWWA.

Meanwhile, a group of migrants yesterday sought additional funds for the repatriation of OFWs from war-torn Syria.

John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said the expected cost of repatriation should not hamper government efforts to immediately send home trapped OFWs in Syria.

“The DFA has been saying that there are enough funds for the repatriation of OFWs from strife-torn countries. If there are enough funds, what then is the cause of the delay in repatriating the 582 OFWs?” Monterona asked.

Both the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and DOLE have assured that funds are available for the repatriation of workers from the Middle East, including Syria.

Labor officials, however, said the OFWs could not be immediately repatriated from Syria because most of them are still unable to secure the necessary exit permits from their employers.

The employers refused to provide the exit permit until the workers are able to refund the cost of their processing fee and pay the unserved portion of their employment contracts, labor officials added.

Of the more than 500 OFWs who registered for immediate repatriation, only seven managed to secure the necessary exit permits.

But Monterona maintained that the “wait and see” stance of the government is endangering the lives of OFWs in strife-torn countries.