7 OFWs killed in Yemen bomb attack declared ‘martyrs’

MANILA, Philippines - Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Hadi has declared the seven Filipino medical workers and Yemeni victims killed in a suicide car bomb attack at the Defense Ministry complex in Sana’a last week as “martyrs,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

In a meeting with Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jesus Yabes, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi conveyed his government’s condolences to the families of the Filipino victims of the bombing incident last Dec. 5.

It was during that meeting that Al-Qirbi informed Yabes the Yemeni president had declared the Filipino and Yemini victims as martyrs.

The DFA also said that “Al-Qirbi vowed full assistance to facilitate the early repatriation of the remains of the victims and cited the contributions of Filipino medical workers to the Yemeni people.”

Yemeni Minister of Interior Major General Abdel Qader Qahtan also conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims and condemned the attack.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) identified five of the fatalities as Hazel Pueblos of Lipa, Batangas; Edward Anthony de Guzman of Valenzuela City; Marivic Badenas of Mariveles, Bataan; Mariannge David of Guagua, Pampanga, and a certain Valenzuela.

All of those killed were nurses, except for Valenzuela who was a doctor.

Relatives of the seven Filipino workers killed flew to Yemen to bring home the remains of their loved ones, OWWA said.

But OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon said the government could not immediately repatriate the bodies of the victims at the same time because all the airlines are fully booked.

“Our government officials in Yemen are trying to book them all together. Unfortunately, they cannot go home at the same time because of the holiday rush,” Dimzon said.

“There are also the spouses and siblings of the fatalities who flew to Yemen to accompany home the bodies, so it is really difficult to book them together,” she added.

But Dimzon gave assurance that the remains of the Filipino workers as well as the 11 Filipinos who were injured in the bombing incident would be home before Christmas. – With Mayen Jaymalin, Rudy Santos