The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it will give financial aid to the kin of the two overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who died from an explosion in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday.
In a statement, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello identified the victims as Clark Bacud Gasis and Merriner Goc-ong Bertoces.
Gasis, 39, is an electrical draughtsman from Surigao del Sur and Bertoces, 26, is a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)—Abu Dhabi employee from Negros Oriental.
Bello said both will get a P120,000 bereavement assistance from the government as well as a insurance benefits, if they are qualified members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos lamented the demise of the two OFWs, whom he described as heroes.
The chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines– Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) appealed to the faithful to pray for the souls of Gasis and Bertoces.
“We, at CBCP-ECMI, commend their souls to God’s mercy and we are praying for strength of their families to hold on to God and rise up from this tragic event,” Santos said.
The prelate also thanked the officials of the Philippine embassy officials for their assistance to the two OFWs and their families.
The two OFWs were among the 28 people, who figured in an explosion in a KFC restaurant along Airport Road in Abu Dhabi, UAE on Aug. 31, 2020.
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) said there were eight other Filipinos, who were affected by the incident, including two children.
“Six of them were immediately taken to the Sheik Khalifa Medical Center (SKMC) for treatment. Five of the injured have already been discharged while the other one identified as Rodel Paclibar remained at the hospital for further observation,” said Bello citing the POLO report.
He said the two Filipino children, who were injured from the incident, were also already out of danger.