ASSISTANCE. Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officer in charge, Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac, pays a courtesy call on Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao on Monday (March 11, 2024). Cacdac visited the family of the Antiqueño seafarer, one of the two killed during the missile attack of the Houthi rebels at the Gulf of Aden on March 6, 2024. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has assured assistance for the family of the Antiqueño seafarer, one of the two killed during the March 6 missile attack of the Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officer in charge, Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac, coordinated with Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao after his visit to the family of the seafarer whom he declined to identify, in Barangay Madrangca, San Jose de Buenavista on Monday.
“Our (DMW) assistance starts with the ongoing salvaging effort,” he said in an interview.
He said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had instructions to do everything to help the family until the remains of the seafarer arrived.
Cacdac said the retrieval of the human remains aboard the ship M/V True Confidence is still ongoing, so he does not know when it will arrive.
Cadiao also assured Cacdac that the provincial government would help take care of the family of the seafarer while the retrieval of his remains continues.
“I will be sending the staff of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) to visit the family of the seafarer,” she said.
The PSWDO will conduct case management so the provincial government can extend aid to individuals in crisis situations (AICS) and their livelihood.
“I learned that the seafarer has a wife and child who are in a crisis situation now, so we will provide them with livelihood to augment their income,” Cadiao said.
The father, in an exclusive interview with the Philippine News Agency, said his son had been working as a seafarer for 11 years.
It has been just a month since he returned to the ship when the incident happened.
“We are still having difficulty absorbing the news about our son,” the father said.
He said they learned about the incident on March 7, a day after the attack.
The death of his son is a big loss to their family, and they are hoping that he is still alive, he added.
The family has yet to determine the kind of assistance they would ask from the national government while waiting for the result of the retrieval operation. (PNA)
