Paralyzed OFW in Jeddah reunited with family

Combined efforts from the Philippine government and the Filipino community in Jeddah helped a paralyzed Filipina return home after paying off a hospital bill that reached over P2 million.
 
Novelita Perez with Consulate representative Hazel Manahan-Mendoza and Dr. Grace Gonzales of the Jeddah National Hospital.DFA photo
Novelita Perez, a 45-year-old runaway domestic worker, arrived in the country last Sunday in a wheelchair, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

It said Perez was discharged from the Jeddah National Hospital after the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, with assistance from JNH doctors Grace Gonzales and Alex Tan, successfully negotiated for a substantial reduction in her hospital bill.

Perez's hospital bills reached P2.4 million.

A report on Saudi Gazette said the bill was decreased to a little more than P2 million (SR170000) after the discount.

It added that the Kaagapay ng Bawat OFW, a migrant rights advocacy group, helped Perez through her five-month stay in JNH, a private hospital.

Perez suffered a stroke while obtaining her exit visa during the three-month grace period given by Saudi Arabia to illegal workers in 2013. Her friends and family asked for governmental assistance after her bills ballooned beyond what they could afford.

The Saudi Gazette report quoted Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay as advising Filipino workers in Saudi to take care of their health and ensure their medical insurance's validity to prevent such misfortune falling on them as well. — Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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