DFA confirms second suicide among OFWs awaiting repatriation
MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr on Thursday announced that a female cruise ship worker awaiting repatriation amid the novel coronavirus pandemic died by suicide.
Locsin said the woman died “where [she] had to stay because flights back to the Philippines [had] been suspended again.”
He further questioned the severe crowding in quarantine facilities for overseas filipino workers (OFWs).
It is my sad duty to report that a 28-year old female mariner committed suicide in her cabin in the ship where she's had to stay because repatriation flights back to the Philippines have been suspended again. I know our quarantine facilities are jam-packed; just don't know why.
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 11, 2020
The foreign affairs secretary Thursday said Mariah Joscon was a crew member on the Harmony of Seas. He added that the ship’s crew were “detained” while they waited for “repeatedly rescinded repatriation” to the country.
RIP. Ms. Mariah Jocson took her life onboard Harmony of the Seas where crew detained awaiting PH repeatedly rescinded repatriation. Second suicide. We are tartly reminded that Filipino resilience is no excuse to stretch them to breaking point. Di sila goma; tao sila.
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 11, 2020
The Bahamas-flagged Harmony of Seas cruise ship was last located in the Carribean Sea.
This is the second suicide by an OFW awaiting repatriation amid the pandemic. The first instance, on May 23, was a Filipina household service worker in Lebanon who was under the care of the Philippine embassy in Beirut.
“As details on the incident are currently being investigated, the embassy has ensured the safety of the rest of the female wards in the shelter and will provide them counseling, as needed,” the department said at the time.
DFA Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez said that an investigation is ongoing and the department will abide by the next-of-kin’s wishes on details that may be shared.
He added that the victim was under the embassy’s responsibility for less than 24 hours so “underlying causes were being considered.”
As of Wednesday, the DFA announced that 382 Filipinos abroad have died of COVID-19. They added that 5,430 FIlipinos abroad tested positive for the virus, with 2,702 undergoing treatment while another 2,346 are recovered or have been discharged from hospitals.
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