The remains of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Taiwan who died due to acid burns in a factory has been brought home to her house in Isabela.
29-year-old Deserie Tagubasi died last month after suffering from fatal acid burns when she dropped a container of hydrofluoric acid in an electronics factory.
The acid spilled on her legs that caused her death a day after the accident. Deserie had been working in Taiwan as on OFW for the past three years.
“We were dumbfounded. When my daughter in Manila called us, I cried profusely after the bad news was relayed to me,” Amalia Tagubasi, Deserie’s mother, told the Philippine News Agency.
The Tagubasi family is planning to file charges against the Taiwan company and her recruiters.
“They should be penalized for their misdeeds. They lack facilities for occupational safety for the employees,” the family said.
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Taiwan is cooperating with some environmental groups to demand justice for Deserie.
In addition, POLO in Taiwan said that Deserie was unprotected when the accident happened. The factory also lacked the necessary chemicals to address the hydrofluoric acid spill.
Labor and environmental groups both here and in Taiwan are calling for the need to review and strengthen procedures in preventing occupational hazards.