OWWA ensures help for kin of Al-Ahsa road crash victims=

Families of the 13 Filipinos killed in a road accident in Saudi Arabia last November 16 are set to receive government cash assistance amounting to over P200,000.00 from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

 

"The legal heirs of the active OWWA members who died will receive P200,000.00 in death benefits, since their death was caused by an accident, with an additional funeral expense of P20,000.00," said OWWA administrator Rebecca Calzado in a statement Wednesday.

 

The 13, all electricians working for a construction and engineering company, were killed after their service coaster collided with a delivery truck in Al-Ahsa, a province in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. They were on their way to their accommodation from their work site when the accident happened.

 

Aside from the fatalities, 13 other Filipinos were hurt and are recuperating from several hospitals.

 

"In the case of the injured workers, OWWA shall provide them with disability benefit of up to P100,000.00, depending on the severity of the disability," Calzado said. "This benefit supplements what they will be receiving from their employer."

 

Livelihood assistance, in the form of a food cart business equivalent to P15,000, will also be provided to the spouses of the victims, Calzado said.

 

"In addition, under our Education and Livelihood Assistance Program (ELAP), we shall assist the schooling preferably of the oldest child (who is less than 21 years old) until he/she graduates from college," she said.

 

ELAP amount ranges from P5,000 for elementary students, P8,000 for high school students and P10,000 for college students per year, according to OWWA. The sibling of  an affected unmarried worker will also receive the same privilege.

 

Calzado said an OWWA welfare officer in Saudi Arabia is keeping a close watch on the situation of the injured workers and is in touch with their employer. 

 

"She will update Manila regularly," she said. "The OWWA Administrator also instructed the regional directors of OWWA to inform the workers’ families about the condition of their loved ones."

 

Calzado assured the concerned families that the OWWA will coordinate with the workers' recruitment agencies as well as with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to facilitate the repatriation of the workers’ remains. —KBK, GMA News