Paralyzed Pinoy in hiding in UAE for 13 years


For the last 13 years, a Filipino former manager of a leading hotel has been in hiding in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but now wishes to go home.

Recto Esmeralda, 54, once worked as a human resources manager at a leading Dubai hotel. However, incurred a bad loan and later suffered a stroke and aneurysm, the news site Gulf Newsreported.

Esmeralda said he tried to apply for amnesty but couldn't because of an unpaid loan.

Gulf News said Esmeralda's troubles started in 1998 when he took a Dh86,000 (P954,566) loan from a UAE bank to help a friend whose mother was fighting cancer.

Esmeralda said his friend promised to repay the loan in installments of Dh2,200 a month but disappeared without paying the debt.

His fortunes worsened in 1999 when he lost his job and he was jailed for four months after the bank lodged a case against him.

He had surrendered his passport to authorities for his temporary freedom.

When he was released, he did odd jobs to raise enough money to pay the bank and get his passport back.

In 2000, his visa expired and he has since been considered an illegal in the UAE.

On December 23, 2008, he suffered a "ruptured cerebral artery aneurysm."

His neurosurgeon prescribed psychological support and intensive physical therapy but he couldn't avail of these as his insurance had expired.

Esmeralda gets by with the help of his 45-year-old nephew Oscar.

He spends most of the time by himself in a room on a villa rooftop in Rashidiya.

"It’s been 13 years since I last saw my family. This should be enough punishment for me. I want to go home. I want to get proper treatment,” Esmeralda told Gulf News. - VVP, GMA News

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