Pinay recounts suicide bombings in Beirut


ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 11/21/2013 12:18 PM | Updated as of 11/22/2013 9:39 AM
Forensic inspectors and Lebanese army soldiers examine the site of the two suicide bombings that occurred on Tuesday near Iran's embassy compound in Beirut November 20, 2013. Photo by Sharif Karim, Reuters
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Two Filipina household service workers (HSWs) injured in the suicide bombings in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon have been discharged from the hospital.
Natalia Bumanlag said she was hanging clothes on their balcony, which was just in front of the Iranian embassy, when the explosions occurred on Tuesday morning.
"Maya-maya, five seconds, boom! Pag nagtagal na ako doon sa balkon, siguradong ewan ko kung patay na ako o ano. Ngayong, nung paalis na 'ko, doon sa may salamin ng balkon, salon at sa may pintuan, [natamaan] yung ulo ko, pinush kong gano'n, kaya ito nangyari. Nahiwa dito ng maraming salamin. Lumabas ang buto sa isang paa ko," Bumanlag said.
She last recalled seeing their house engulfed by black smoke then waking up in a hospital.
"Di ko alam kung sinong nagpunta dito't nagdala sa 'kin dito. Yun pa lang ambulansya," she said.
This is the first time that Filipinos were reported injured in bombing attacks, the fourth incident to occur in south Beirut and Tripoli.
The Philippine Embassy in Beirut said that another wounded Pinay was sent home after being treated.
The recent incident injured an estimated 150 people and claimed the lives of 25 others, including the Iranian embassy's Cultural Attache in Beirut, Ebrahim Ansari.
Sunni jihadists linked to Al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for the suicide blasts. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades also warned of more attacks unless the Lebanese-based, Iranian-backed Shiite militia, Hezbollah stops sending fighters to support Syrian government forces.
The embassy urged Filipinos to remain vigilant and coordinate with them.
"I would like to really encourage and urge our kababayans here in Lebanon to please give us your names, addresses, or telephone numbers. You can do it via the Facebook, or via the emergency line of the embassy so that whenever there are emergencies like these or situations like these, we can easily determine your location and whether or not, you know, we should be concerned about the Filipinos in that area," said Ambassador Leah Ruiz.
The Philippine Embassy in Beirut is located at Mar Geries Street (Al Mahatta Road) - Hadath, Baabda - Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, Baabda.
Telephone Nos: +961 5 953522 or 03-859430
Email: beirutpe@gmail.com
Report from Rhyse Furio, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau correspondent

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more