NEWSFLASH

GMA CONDOLES WITH KIN OF ISRAEL BOMBING VICTIM

Mainalin, Pampanga, August 8, 2002 (STAR) By Marichu Villanueva and Ding Cervantes - Braving floods, President Arroyo made an unscheduled trip to the town of Minalin, Pampanga yesterday to condole with the family of one of the Filipina caregivers killed in the Palestinian suicide attack in Israel last weekend.

The President made an unannounced visit to the home of Adelina Cunanan, 43, who died when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up the bus she was riding in northern Israel. The other casualty was Rebecca Ruga, 39, of Bansud, Oriental Mindoro.

Mrs. Arroyo personally extended her condolences to Cunanan’s parents, 62-year-old Pablo Lagunila and his 60-year-old wife Ynez and the rest of Cuna-nan’s family. The President also attended the special Mass celebrated for Cunanan at a chapel in Barangay San Francisco in Minalin.

The President embraced Ynez. Pablo, who suffers from a heart ailment and was hospitalized after learning of his daughter’s death, was speechless throughout the President’s visit.

Mrs. Arroyo remained in the chapel in the flooded town for 30 minutes before giving Cunanan’s parents a P50,000 check drawn from the President’s Social Fund. Cunanan’s children, Neil, 20, and Gladys, 17, were also on hand to meet the President.

Minalin Mayor Edgar Flores said the town council is preparing a resolution declaring Cunanan a "modern day heroine" in honor of the sacrifice she made by working overseas and away from her family in order to provide for them. Cunanan’s husband, Henry, was scheduled to arrive from Saudi Arabia yesterday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople told the President the other day that since both Cunanan and Ruga were documented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), they were covered by Israel’s Institute of National Insurance. This means that the beneficiaries of both deceased workers will get full insurance benefits from the Israeli insurance institution.

As soon as the remains of the two Filipina caregivers arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Ople said, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will take care of all burial expenses and other costs - including the transportation of their remains to Pampanga and Oriental Mindoro.

The remains of Cunanan and Ruga are scheduled to arrive tomorrow night aboard Lufthansa Airlines flight LH744.

The President made her side trip to Minalin after conducting an inspection of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) office in Balara, Quezon City.

In Balara, the President had to change her official vehicle, a black Mercedes-Benz SEL, to board a sturdier Pajero to get through the floods in Minalin.

While in Pampanga, the President proceeded to Clark Field, where she conducted a regional development council meeting.

In another development, United Philippines Manpower Agencies for Israel Association Inc. (UPMAIAI) president Ramon Estrella said their association is keeping a close watch on the situation in Israel and is in close contact with the labor office there, should the need to evacuate all OFWs from the strife-torn country arise.

However, the UPMAIAI agrees with the assessment of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that there is no need to repatriate OFWs at this time: "There is no need to move our caregivers, since it is better for them to stay indoors and the armed conflict is confined to the neighboring town of Tel Aviv."

Estrella said that all 50 UPMAIAI members have been advised to communicate with their counterparts in Israel to inform their contract workers about the need to institute measures for their safety and protection.

Prior to departure, he said, OFWs bound for Israel are now instructed to avoid traveling via public transport and to avoid crowded places there.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the families of Cunanan and Ruga will receive P200,000 in financial assistance from the OWWA: "The OWWA board recognized the persistence and determination of the two Filipina workers to work in Israel despite the perils and hazards of working in a place open to terrorist attacks in order to provide a better life for their families." — With Mayen Jaymalin

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Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi