Families Receive Remains of Filipino TFWs Killed in Road Mishap

Families Receive Remains of Filipino TFWs Killed in Road Mishap
Posted by Bayanihan Fort Saskatchewan on FB

EDMONTON, Alberta – The remains of the four Filipino temporary foreign workers killed in a road mishap Nov. 22 near Leduc have arrived back home. Not the kind of homecoming their families imagined and certainly not during the holiday season.

The remains of Eva Jeannete Caperina, Rosalina Tipdas and Romil Mose arrived in the Philippines Dec. 11. Archie Bermillo’s remains were cremated which his wife brought with her to the US.
Donations continue to pour for the families. Donations deposited into the Millwoods BMO account set up by Caperina’s cousin raised $5,100.71 while cash donations amounted $7,752.40, totalling $12,853.11. The funds were equally divided and sent to the victims’ families.

Meanwhile, the Filipino community is asking the office of Philippine Honorary Consul Esmeralda Agbulos for transparency for funds deposited into an ATB account, as well as donations by attendees during the memorial service held on Nov. 30 at Hainstock’s Funeral Home. The amount collected by the office is yet to be reported.

All of the victims had been working in Canada between 2012 up until the accident. Reports indicated only Mose secured a life insurance while in Canada. The four workers were heading out in Kingman early morning on Nov. 22 when they ran on an icy patch near Leduc causing their vehicle to swerve and slam into a tractor.

Filipino migrant workers and their beneficiaries are entitled to services while working abroad covered by their membership with OWWA. For $25 US membership fee, their families are entitled to up to P200,000 ($5,000 Cad) in death due to accident benefit, as well as P20,000 ($500 Cad) in burial benefits. Staff at the rights and welfare assistance program of Migrante International based in the Manila is coordinating with the victims’ families to avail financial support from the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Cynthia Palmaria of Migrante Alberta said not providing services due to non-membership with OWWA would be a slap in the face of the victims and their families. She said, “It was the absence of a better future in the Philippines that drove these migrant workers to this country. Their remittances helped the Philippine economy to stay afloat.”