ATOK, Benguet – Benguet Caretaker Congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Eric Go Yap vowed to put the pressure on the foreign affairs department and the consulate based in the United Arab Emirates to ferret out the truth on the cause of death of a young Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) from Km. 24, Caliking barangay.
In an interview aired over RPN-DZBS Baguio’s One for the Road program, Yap, who chairs the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, stated he is saddened that he was only able to speed up the repatriation of the remains of Elreen Ann Sano Banisa for her to be given a decent wake and burial by her family, and he still has to follow through with the foreign affairs department and the consulate office their work with UAE authorities to ascertain the real cause of death of the OFW and to seek for justice for whoever is the culprit.
Banisa went to UAE in 2014 where she worked as a sales lady before being promoted to filing clerk. She was supposed to come home this month but unfortunately, she arrived home in a box.
The lawmaker pointed out that OFWs are unsung heroes as they go to work in foreign countries just to provide their families amidst the threat to their lives and injustices committed against them by their employers should be addressed by the government through appropriate representations with their counterparts in the foreign lands.
According to him, it is unfortunate that such untoward incident happened to Ms. Banisa that ended her dream of a better life for her family and her young daughter.
However, Congressman Yap promised Banisa’s family he will take care of the education needs of her daughter up to college in memory of her late mother and to lessen the burden of the family of having to shoulder her studies as the young girl aspires to be a physician in the future.
Congressman Yap assured Banisa’s family he will not stop to put pressure on the concerned government agencies locally and in the foreign land until such time that the cause of her death will be determined and the culprits behind her untimely demise will be identified, charged and prosecuted because OFWs do not serve such kind of treatment not only from their employers but also from the people in the countries where they are working.
Ms. Banisa’s remains arrived in their house recently for her to be given the traditional wake and burial by the members of her family, relatives and well-wishers from the different parts of the province.
He urged families of OFWs who are experiencing abuses from their employers in the different parts of the world to immediately seek the assistance of his office so that appropriate representations could be done to attend to the needs of the abused OFWs the soonest to prevent the occurrence of untoward incidents that might compromise their safety in the future.
He expressed his gratitude to the OFWs for their enormous contribution to the growth and development of the country over the past several decades and that their patriotism is deeply appreciated.
By HENT