DAILY TRIBUNE helps cut red tape in OFW case

A supposed victim of the Alpha Assistenza SRL ruse thanked DAILY TRIBUNE for helping her obtain the release of the death certificate of her partner, who died of cardiac arrest in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Arlyn Hipolito, one of those impleaded in the illegal recruitment case filed before the Department of Justice against Alpha Assistenza, in a message, said someone had called her from the Philippine consulate in Jeddah to inform her that coordination with the Migrant Workers Office had been made in connection with the death certificate of Geminiano Joseph Perez, her common-law husband.

Death certificate needed

Hipolito had sought the help of DAILY TRIBUNE regarding her plea for the death certificate of Perez, who died last year.

In an interview at her residence in Bacoor, Cavite, Hipolito said her partner, who worked for an IT company in Jeddah, died on 2 June 2023.

His body was shipped to the Philippines, but the death certificate, which was needed so their son could claim a pension from the Social Security System, could not be processed.

Their 12-year-old son has a bone marrow disease. They were told the SSS could not process the application for a pension without an authenticated PSA from the Philippine consulate, prompting her to send a letter to the consulate to no avail.

She also wrote to the consulate in Jeddah and went to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. She was told to submit documents, but nothing happened.

This prompted Hipolito to seek the help of this paper, which promptly sent a reporter to inquire about her situation and coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Migrant Workers, which acted immediately.

That was when Hipolito received a call from the government agencies.

Hipolito is the aunt of Kry Krizelle Respicio, who was the object of illegal recruitment charges along with other executives of Alpha Assistenza SRL. They were accused of duping Filipino applicants for non-existent jobs in Italy.