DNA tests awaited to determine which of blast victims is Filipino
OVERSEAS Workers Welfare Administration Chief Carmelita Dimzon (right) comforts the wife of Ruben Kebeng, the Filipino truck driver held by Saudi authorities for the Nov. 1 blast in Riyadh. RICHARD BALONGLONG/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON
PANDI, Bulacan—The Filipino migrant worker who was killed in the November 1 explosion in eastern Riyadh in Saudi Arabia would need to undergo DNA testing for proper identification, before his remains can be flown home, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa).
Jocelyn Santiago, 37, widow of utility driver Florentino Santiago, said she was informed by Owwa officials here to wait for Saudi authorities to complete the DNA testing of all 22 victims of the accident because many of their remains were charred beyond recognition.
Jocelyn said her two children may also be required to provide DNA samples to help Saudi authorities sort their father’s remains from the rest of the fatalities.
DNA search
Saudi officials have already requested the same assistance from her brother-in-law, Jovenal Santiago, who is in Qatar and who had volunteered to take Florentino’s body home.
“There are three bodies which the Saudi police still need to identify, and we are hoping one of them is my husband so our long wait would end and we can bring him home,” Jocelyn said.
She said the family had been holding prayer sessions at home in Barangay (village) Malibung Matanda here in behalf of Florentino.
New clothes
On Friday, Jocelyn said she bought her late husband new clothes. “I know he is dead but I would still buy him his favorite brand of T-shirts, which my children may bring with them should Saudi officials request them to fly to Riyadh for the DNA tests,” she said.
In Baguio City, relatives of Ruben Kebeng, the Filipino truck driver held by Saudi authorities for the Nov. 1 blast, have apologized to the victims of the accident.
Owwa Administrator Carmelita Dimzon met with the relatives of Kebeng and other truck drivers from Benguet at the Owwa Cordillera office in Baguio.
In isolation
Dimzon said Saudi authorities have yet to give Philippine Embassy officials access to Kebeng, who is being held and investigated by the Riyadh police for supposedly causing the accident that triggered a gasoline tanker explosion.
The gasoline tanker, said to be driven by Kebeng, hit a portion of a flyover in eastern Riyadh, triggering an explosion that tore through an industrial district there as well as a fleet of trucks parked nearby.
Dimzon assured Kebeng’s relatives that he is safe.
“The meeting was emotional … . Kebeng’s relatives were all crying, especially his mother. They also apologized to the family of Santiago. What happened was really heavy for them to bear,” Dimzon said.
Twenty-one residents from Buguias and Mankayan towns in Benguet are employed as fuel tanker drivers and heavy equipment operators under the Saudi company, Alzodaez. Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon, and Desiree Caluza, Inquirer Northern Luzon
