Donations pour in for injured OFW

MANILA, Philippines - An injured overseas Filipino worker (OFW) will finally be able to return to the Philippines from Saudi Arabia after donations poured in for his return ticket and medical expenses.

In a statement, Senator Manuel Villar said 50-year-old heavy equipment mechanic Quirino Sison was accidentally hit by a broken bearing from a co-worker’s working area. The bearing entered and stayed in his head.

“Duguan akong dinala sa ospital kung saan ako ay na-X-ray lamang at natagpuan ang piraso ng metal sa ulo ko. Sumasakit po ang ulo ko lalo na pag nakatingala ako na parang may tumutusok, at namamaga, dahilan upang hindi ako makatulog sa gabi," he told Villar.

[I was bloody when I was brought to the hospital where I was only X-rayed even though a piece of metal was found on my head. My head hurts when I look up, it feels like something is piercing me – making me unable to sleep]

Sison then decided to ask Villar for financial assistance for his ticket and medical expenses.

But when news about the Filipino mechanic’s situation reached the Filipino communities in Riyadh, the senator said contributions started to pour in for his ticket expenses.

Villar, on the other hand, said he will be the one to give Sison medical assistance so that he may finally be able to have his head thoroughly examined in the Philippines.

The Philippine Embassy said the OFW’s employer has already taken care of all of his debts.

Villar, meanwhile, questioned the lack of protection for Filipino workers on the job site and medical attention following work-related incidents.

Migrant groups in Saudi Arabia have previously asked the Philippine government to give better protection to OFWs with dangerous jobs. [See: Better protection sought for OFWs with risky jobs] - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

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