Body of OFW in Saipan waiting to be sent home

GARAPAN, Saipan – The body of an overseas Filipino worker in the US island of Saipan cannot be sent home until his last employer of record, who is responsible for shouldering his medical and transportation expenses, is determined by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ Department of Labor.

CNMI labor regulations require a foreign worker’s last employer of record to pay for repatriation and medical costs.

Rodolfo Pabale, who hailed from San Pedro in Laguna province, fell into a coma on March 21 and died a week later on March 28 at the hospital. He was 62.

Those who knew Pabale, whom they call Mang Rudy, describe him as a good man.

Rolly Querijero, one of the deceased’s closest friends on Saipan, said Pabale had been in a coma since the morning of March 21 after he had a stroke while cooking in his apartment.

“The neighbors saw him when he fell to the ground, and they called the ambulance. A week later, he died," Querijero told GMANews.TV.

The two had been friends since 1997.

Pabale's daughter is expected to come to Saipan to fetch her father's remains.

Philippine Labor Attaché Joann Lourdes Lavilla said Philippine Consul General in the CNMI Wilfredo DL. Maximo wrote CNMI Labor Secretary Gil San Nicolas on Monday to ask him about Pabale's last legal employer of record.

Labor has yet to respond to the Philippine government’s letter.

Pabale did not renew his Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) membership when it expired in 2007, making his family ineligible to receive life insurance benefits.

Pabale came to Saipan in 1992 to work as a purchaser at XO Market. When his contract expired on Nov. 30, 2006, he asked for a six-month employment extension, which his employer approved.

Nina Reyes, an employee at XO Market, said Pabale worked at XO Market until May 2007. She said Pabale, after his contract with XO Market expired, was believed to be working for other companies, including Marianas Repair, Misamis Construction and Li Hua Store.

But Reyes said XO Market wants to know whether Pabale had been an illegal working since he left XO Market.

She said that should XO Market is determined to be the last legal employer of record, then the company is willing to shoulder the cost of transporting Pabale's remains back to the Philippines, pay for the casket, and the medical bills.

Reyes said groups or individuals who are also willing to donate money to help defray some of the expenses and to help Pabale's family could call her at (670) 235-4456 or 235-4458. - GMANews.TV

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