Wounded Pinoy in Libya hotel attack to be airlifted to Turkey

The Filipino engineer who was injured in Tuesday's terrorist attack in a Libyan hotel will be airlifted to Turkey for better treatment, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Thursday.

In a statement, Baldoz identified the victim as Engr. Veron Pesigan Matoto, who sustained two gunshot wounds in the chest, one in the arm, one in the knee, and one in the leg during the incident.

Matoto will be airlifted from a hospital in Tripoli to a facility with better equipment in Turkey while awaiting repatriation, Baldoz said.

“Once she is repatriated, her family and she will receive proper assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration even if she is not an active member,” said added.

OWWA will also help Magtoto undergo psycho-social counseling, stress debriefing, and transport assistance to her home province.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) will assist Matoto in receiving her salaries and benefits from her employer. She is an employee of APR Energy Libya Company, but POEA records show she was deployed as employee to Kentz Engineers and Constructors.

Matoto and several others were hurt when gunmen stormed Corinthia Hotel, which is  popular with diplomats and officials, on Tuesday in an attack before blowing themselves up.

Nine people were killed, although the Philippine government denied reports that two of them were Filipinos.

The latest attack highlights the danger faced by hundreds of Philippine nationals working in the country, which has been plagued by several months of civil unrest.

Due to the volatile security situation in Libya, the Philippine government placed the North African state under crisis level 4. Under this phase, all Filipinos are encouraged to avail of evacuation being offered by the Philippine government.

According to Department of Labor and Employment, at least 4,333 Filipino workers have been repatriated from the country as of November last year. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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