By Vir B. Lumicao
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| Friends view the remains of Marilyn Librado before they were sent home |
Five Filipinos died in Hong Kong in the first three weeks of
January, including an octogenarian who succumbed to heart disease in hospital
while serving a prison sentence for theft, and a 60-year-old cancer victim who
had overstayed her visa for several years.
The rest were all OFWs, the Consulate’s assistance to
nationals section told The SUN in an interview.
Two of the dead have been flown home while a third one is
set for cremation on Jan 22, said ATN officer Hermogenes Cayabyab Jr., who had
been in touch with the authorities and the deceased’s families.
Lucine Dotdot and Marilyn Librado, whose ages were not
available, both died of aneurysm, said ATN officer Hermogenes Cayabyab Jr., who
handled the cases of the two domestic workers.
Cayabyab said Dotdot died on Jan 2, but could not tell the
date of Librado’s demise because her records were still with the authorities.
“Their remains were shipped home on Jan 13 via Philippine
Airlines,” Cayabyab said.
Mila Ergina, a 50-year-old domestic worker, passed away on
Jan 12 in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon after being confined there for
some time, Cayabyab said. The deceased left her family in Pangasinan in 1995 to
work in Hong Kong .
The overstayed Filipina, Carmelita Dogello, 60, died on Jan
12 in Prince of Wales Hospital after a prolonged battle against cancer. She
came to Hong Kong in 1981 but overstayed her
visa in 2006, Cayabyab said.
Dogello, who had many friends in the community, collapsed in
her employer’s home in November last year and was diagnosed to be terminally
ill of cancer, a member of her church said.
A son of Dogello came to Hong Kong in December to attend to
his mother in hospital but went home shortly after the woman died, Cayabyab said.
He added that the deceased would be cremated on Jan 22.
Edwina Antonio of the Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge
said it was Dogello’s wish to be cremated.
The eldest of the deceased, 81-year-old Stanley Prison
inmate Ricardo de Jesus, succumbed to heart disease in Queen Mary Hospital on
Jan 3, Cayabyab said.
De Jesus was serving a total of 47 months in jail after his
conviction for theft and breach of deportation orders on Feb 10 last year.
