First Lady Liza Marcos graces Dubai OFW event, hands out assistance to cancer patients

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – First Lady Marie Louise "Liza" Araneta-Marcos on Saturday graced the opening of the Bagong Bayani ng Mundo – OFW Serbisyo Caravan, giving out a total of P100,000 (AED6,200) each to approximately 60 Filipino cancer patients.

The cash assistance was pooled together by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The event was a prelude to a visit by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on January 13 in Abu Dhabi, where he is expected to sign agreements with the United Arab Emirates government meant to bolster economic ties between the two countries.

Meantime, the First Lady led the ribbon-cutting ceremony participated by DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac; OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan; Ambassador Alfonso Ferdinand Ver, head of the Philippine mission to UAE; Consul General Ambrosio Brian Enciso III; Philippine Business Council (PBC) president Asiyah  Monjardin; and Filipino Social Club (FilSoc) president Ericson Reyes.

Cacdac and Caunan along with Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda,  DMW Asst. Secretary Dominique "Nikki" Rubia-Tutay and heads and staff of the nine participating Philippine government agencies flew to Dubai for the 3rd leg of the OFW event.

It was held for two days – Jan. 10 and 11 – at the Conrad Hotel and will be held for a day on Jan. 13 at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi in time for the president’s visit. 

It was the third in seven months. The first two legs of Serbisyo Caravan was held last year of which, according to DMW, some 63,000 OFWs benefitted in over 145,000 transactions. 

The nine government agencies in the third leg provided services related to documentation, welfare, social protection, and digital government access. Among them were the Land Transportation Office, its first in the UAE; Social Security System, OWWA, Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth and DMW.

Cacdac said they estimate that a total of 5,000 OFWs will avail of the services.

Meantime, the cancer patients were all happy with the financial help, which also came with bags of goodies.

They were suffering from various type of cancers – brain, breast and gall bladder, among them.

The money, they said, will be spent mostly on chemotherapy, one session of which costs AED28,000, according to Raymundo Rueca, a brain cancer patient. 

Rueca was diagnosed in June last year, have undergone surgery, was forced to resign from his job and has eight chemotherapy treatments to go, he said.

Labor Attaché John Rio A. Bautista said the cancer patients were from Dubai.

He said P75,000 (AED4,600) of the amount was shouldered by DMW and P25,000 (AED1,500) by OWWA. —KG, GMA Integrated News