16 February 2016 - The Department of Foreign Affairs, through the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad, repatriated last Saturday, February 13, the remains of the 13 Filipinas who perished in a fire which struck the Capitol Hotel in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

The remains were received at NAIA by officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). Six of the human remains were transferred to the domestic terminal station for onward shipment to their families who were residing the Mindanao. The formalities covering the shipment of remains of the victims to Mindanao were completed in the early morning of Sunday, February 14.

The employer of the victims shouldered the cost of the shipment of the human remains from Erbil to Manila. In addition, the employer offered to shoulder the funeral costs of 12 of the victims while the family of the remaining victim opted to use a funeral insurance policy of a family friend to cover their interment cost.

The Philippine Embassy in Baghdad is currently working on the repatriation of 2 Filipinas who worked in the same establishment but were on their day off on the day of the fire.

The Department has requested the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad to continue its negotiation with the employer in order to obtain further financial assistance for the benefit of the families left behind. It was discovered by the Department that only 4 of the 13 victims are active OWWA members and only the families of these 4 members would consequently be entitled to OWWA benefits. All the victims were deployed to Erbil through irregular recruitment channels.

The Filipina victims worked as massage therapists in a spa located at the basement of Capitol Hotel. Investigators are looking at faulty electrical wiring as the likely cause of the blaze. All the victims died of suffocation. The Kurdistan Regional Government gave assurance that a thorough investigation of the fire will be conducted and its result shared with the Philippine Government.  END