OWWA assists OFW's family

MANILA, Philippines - The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has extended educational and financial assistance to the husband and child of 31-year-old Juanita Limbago, the Filipina domestic helper who sacrificed herself to save the life of a six-year-old boy under her care in Hong Kong.

Limbago, who had been working in Hong Kong for less than three months, was killed after throwing herself in front of a bus to shield her six-year-old ward while she was taking him to school in Kowloon Tong last June 10.

OWWA administrator Carmelita Dimzon presented Limbago’s husband Edwin, 35, also a OFW in Qatar, and their son, Mark, 8, a grade III pupil of the Makati Elementary School, to Vice President Jejomar Binay Wednesday afternoon in his office at the Coconut Palace.

The Limbagos are natives of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, but they have been living in Makati since 1964.

Binay handed over to Edwin the scholarship certificate for their son covering elementary, high school and college and a certificate of the one-time financial assistance.

He also handed over to Mark the amount of P6,000 for his school allowance.

“You must register in Pag-ibig as OFW. Your wife is a heroine. Makati is a better school. You will not be spending anything in Makati because you are free for everything in school, like textbooks, bag, uniforms. Be a boy scout,” Binay told Edwin and Mark.

Binay also ordered his chief of staff to help Edwin facilitate the benefits due Limbago in the Social Security System (SSS) and in the Pag-Ibig Fund.

For her part, Dimzon said aside from the educational assistance and the one-time financial assistance, Edwin and Mark will also receive P200,000 in death benefits and another P20,000 as burial benefits.

“We are giving you the entrepreneurship financial assistance to let you start a business because you will not be in Qatar forever,” Dimzon told Edwin.

Edwin left for Qatar last Friday.

“My target is to work for another four years in Qatar and go back to our country to start a business of my own. I will stop going abroad. Mark will soon be in high school and he needs my guidance. I am very thankful for the assistance given to our family by the OWWA and by Vice President Binay. This is a big boost to our family,” Edwin said, adding that his priority now is to see to it that their only child will finish his studies up to college.

He said Limbago was a very sweet wife to him and a very sweet and thoughtful mother to their son.

“She’s very sweet. It’s her culture of thinking of the safety of others before herself. She was very close to Tsoi because he has a big similarity with our son. She told me that,” Edwin said.

Edwin said Tsoi’s parents paid the salary of his wife and they also gave them the total savings of Tsoi.

“They said they are middle class family in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government has not extended any assistance yet. Even the insurance for my wife has not been released yet,” Edwin said.

Edwin said the last time he talked to his wife was on June 8.

“Last February, she went to Baguio City with friends and relatives. I don’t know if it is a premonition of sort. But she told all our relatives that we will return home together. One of my relatives told me that my wife even told them that she can die already because she was able to visit for the first time in her life the City of Baguio. Then she left for Hong Kong on March 25. It was her first time to go abroad,” Edwin said.

For his part, Mark said he misses his mother. “She was very kind to me. But she used to punish me whenever I turned witty,” Mark said.

Mark wants to join the military someday. He saluted Binay several times during their meeting.