The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan granted financial assistance to the family of a Filipino seafarer in Taiwan who died on board a Taiwanese fishing vessel last June.
MECO Chairman Silvestre Bello III said the case is the first recorded death of an overseas Filipino worker in the jurisdiction of its Kaohsiung field office in southern Taiwan.
The autopsy report indicates that the 28-year-old OFW died of a heart attack.
“We condole with the family of our deceased OFW, and made sure that the appropriate assistance due to the family of our fallen worker is released immediately,” Bello said in a statement.
Labor Attaché David Des Dicang of the Migrant Workers Office in Kaohsiung explained that there was a delay in the processing of the required documentation from concerned agencies due to the misspelled family name in the birth certificate of the OFW.
“The remains of the OFW was repatriated to Manila only last September 14 after an autopsy conducted under the supervision of the Taiwan Prosecutor’s Office on August 31,” Dicang added.
The labor official also said expenses were covered by the Taiwanese employer, the owner of Taiwan flag vessel Hua Shan Vessel no. 301, and Kuaijie Manpower Dispatch Co.Ltd.
“Aside from the insurance benefit of NT$ 1.5 million (P2.639 million), the family of the OFW from Narvacan, Ilocos Sur will also receive P100,000 in death benefits, burial assistance of P20,000 and livelihood grant of P15,000 from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA),” he added.
