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Body of OFW killed in Beirut blast arrives in Guimaras

By Perla Lena

August 19, 2020, 2:51 pm

<p><strong>HOME AT LAST</strong>. The funeral car carrying the remains of Milagros Sumaculob, an OFW who died in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, boards the roll-on, roll-off vessel bound for Guimaras on Tuesday (Aug. 18, 2020). The Guimaras OFW was supposed to go home for good this December 2020.<em> (Photo courtesy of Public Information and Relations Guimaras)</em></p>

HOME AT LAST. The funeral car carrying the remains of Milagros Sumaculob, an OFW who died in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, boards the roll-on, roll-off vessel bound for Guimaras on Tuesday (Aug. 18, 2020). The Guimaras OFW was supposed to go home for good this December 2020. (Photo courtesy of Public Information and Relations Guimaras)

ILOILO CITY – The remains of the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) killed in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon arrived in her home province of Guimaras on Tuesday.

A press statement from the provincial government of Guimaras said the body of 67-year-old Milagros Sumaculob was flown from Beirut via Qatar Airways on Monday and transported to Iloilo via the Philippine Air Force on Tuesday.

The swift repatriation of her remains was done with the assistance of the office of Senator Bong Go, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) and the provincial government of Guimaras.

Her body was received by members of her family, representative from the provincial government of Guimaras, OWWA, and OCD, the press statement added.

In an interview over Bombo Radyo Iloilo on Wednesday, Guimaras Governor Samuel Gumarin said that upon the request of the family, the provincial government was able to communicate their wishes not to cremate the victim’s body.

The victim who worked for more than 15 years as a household helper in Lebanon went home to her hometown Buenavista, Guimaras in 2018.

She was supposed to go home for good December this year, he added.

OCD regional director Jose Roberto Nuñez, in an interview, said that his office coordinated for the transportation through their central office.

Nuñez added that it is OWWA that will be extending financial assistance to the family.

Meanwhile, the victim’s son, Patrick Ceasar Sumaculob, was relieved that the remains of his mother were repatriated amid travel restrictions due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

The victim died while being treated at the American University Hospital after the explosion. (PNA)

 

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