2nd Pinoy SARS fatality cremated in Singapore

The remains of the second Filipino worker who died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was cremated the other night in Singapore and will be brought home in the next few days.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the overseas worker identified only as "JP" succumbed to the killer pneumonia at about 7 p.m. on Wednesday and his remains were cremated shortly after.

Based on reports from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Singapore, Sto. Tomas said that though the 24-year-old caregiver is employed at a nursing home, he acquired the deadly infection from his Filipina girlfriend, a nurse at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital who was hospitalized ahead of him.

Seven other Filipina nurses working in Tan Tock Seng are also afflicted with SARS. Except for JP, all the others have recovered from the infection and have been discharged from the hospital.

"JP was confined for 20 days in the hospital but his condition turned for the worst and he died before his father could arrive for a visit," Sto. Tomas said.

Flown to Singapore by JP’s employer, the father arrived 30 minutes after his son’s death and instead of speaking to him, witnessed his cremation instead.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Virgilio Angelo said JP’s family would receive a total of P70,000 in insurance and burial benefits from the agency.

The first recorded SARS fatality among OFWs was Adela Dalingay, a domestic helper in Hong Kong who died last March 24. Labor Undersecretary Manuel Imson said a total of nine SARS cases among OFWs, including Dalingay, was reported in Hong Kong and three are still confined at the hospital. In Singapore, a total of 16 SARS cases have been recorded among OFWs, with one fatality.

According to National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, SARS is now a national security concern that must be given full attention by the government. – With Pia Lee Brago, Perseus Echeminada