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AGO to aid deceased worker
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Posted on Dec 02 2004
Attorney general Pam Brown said her office will look into the possible use of the government’s repatriation funds for the shipment of the remains of a nonresident worker who died three months ago.
“The fund can be tapped to assist…. I’ve allowed in the past its use to assist workers. I will look into it,” Brown told reporters yesterday.
At the same time, the government, she said, would go after the employer of the deceased worker, Pedro Hipolito.
She said Gov. Juan N. Babauta is particularly concerned about the situation and asked the AGO to find ways to assist the worker.
“The governor is very sympathetic to this situation,” Brown said.
Hipolito’s body remains in the Commonwealth Health Center’s morgue since he died last September, reportedly due to brain stem damage. He reportedly suffered a blunt trauma to the back of his neck after he was hit by a flying window shutter during typhoon Chaba in August.
The Filipino community, meantime, has began separate fundraising campaigns to help defray the cost for embalming and shipment of Hipolito’s remains.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has reportedly learned that Hipolito was an undocumented worker.
OWWA’s Advisory Council is accepting donations for Hipolito. The OWWA office, headed by Mary Daet, is located on the ground floor of Nauru Building in Susupe. It can be reached by calling 235-6992.
