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| Many were teary-eyed while looking at J.T.'s remains and saying a final goodbye |
By Vir B. Lumicao
Friends of a 40-year-old Filipina helper who plunged to her
death from her employer’s flat in Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, on Jul 22 said they
were aware of her financial problems but she kept them mostly to herself.
About 20 of her friends and church mates gathered at the
Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom at noon on Aug 4 to bid her a final farewell.
Her remains were flown to Manila the next day, and transported by funeral car
to her final resting place in Candelaria, Quezon.
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| J.T.'s friends stayed until her casket was placed in a wooden box prior to her flight back home |
Most of her friends wiped away tears as they viewed the remains of
J.T., who was single and had a 14-year-old son.
“Mas mahirap ang dinanas niya sa Kuwait
at Jordan
pero ang lakas ng loob niya noon, Pagkatapos nagawa niya ito,” said one friend,
who did not want to give her name.
The friend said she and other members of their informal
group Mayward Flyers, who got together in their church in Kwai Chung on their
day off, knew about the victim’s financial woes but did not ask her about these
out of respect for her privacy.
Another friend said one loan fell due in June when the victim
failed to pay her monthly amortization.
Another helper, said to be J.T.’s best friend in the group,
did not have the courage to see her remains despite bearing a bunch of daisies
for her. She only peeked into the victim’s coffin after some prodding by others
who said that it would be the last time she’d see her friend.
Hong Kong police have said J.T.’s death appeared to be
related to her debt problems.
Ironically, her family now stands to receive around Php600,000 in insurance payouts as a result of
her death.
Welfare officer Virsie Tamayao said more than Php500,000 will
come from the deceased’s mandatory insurance, and Php120,000 in death benefit
from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
She said the victim was a first-time overseas Filipino
worker in Hong Kong and was still covered by the two-year mandatory insurance
and was also an active OWWA member. Her two-year contract would have lapsed
this coming September.
Tamayao said suicide is covered in both payouts because stress is considered as
a health-related concern of OFWs.
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