2 more OFWs pass away in HK

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan (Photo: Google Maps)

Two more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong died this month reportedly due to natural causes.

The two domestic workers, one from Pangasinan and the other from Leyte, died as consulate officials reminded Filipinos in the city to better take care of their health.

The OFW from Dagupan passed away at the Pak Oi Hospital in Yuen Long on August 6 after suffering from breast cancer. She was 46, an official of the Philippine Consulate General said.

“She was a member of the Filmcass (the Filipino Migrant Cancer Support Society) and was an outpatient,” the official said.

She added that the domestic worker’s remains were set to be repatriated back to the Philippines tomorrow (August 24).

Then on August 15, the consulate received word that a 54-year-old domestic worker died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan.

“We had received a report that she was in critical condition and was already comatose when she was brought to the hospital,” the official said.

The official added that domestic worker from Tacloban is believed to have died of natural causes. The authorities are now trying to determine the specific cause of her death.

According to data from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), stroke was the top cause of illness of OFWs repatriated from HK from 2014 to 2017.

Stroke victims comprised 36 percent of OFWs repatriated back to the Philippines, while those with cancer comprised 27 percent. The other illnesses reported were tuberculosis/ lung problems (13 percent), mild depression (21 percent), and fracture/ spinal problems (three percent), according to OWWA.

Labor Attache Nida Romulo said she would push for foreign domestic workers in HK to have m