05 May 2006 - Philippine Ambassador to Amman, Jordan Jose P. Del Rosario, Jr. led Embassy officials in sending off quadriplegic OFW patient Jennifer Perez from Ibn Al Haytham Hospital to the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman.

OFW Perez left Amman in the afternoon of 01 May 2006 via Abu Dhabi-owned airline Etihad Airways, which stopped over in the UAE capital. Ms. Perez's onward flight to Manila was delayed for a day due to the unavailability of a suction machine and she temporarily stayed at Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi.

Ambassador Del Rosario, Jr. coordinated with Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Libran Cabactulan in sourcing the suction machine and OFW Perez finally left Abu Dhabi on the night of 02 May 2003.  She arrived at the NAIA 1:28 p.m. on 3 May 2006 aboard Etihad Airways flight EY427 and was met by officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and family members.   From plane side, OFW Perez was carried on a waiting ambulance for the transfer to the Philippine General Hospital where she will receive continuing treatment and care.   (Please refer to the accompanying photo release on this subject matter.)

OFW Perez was accompanied during the flight by her father Herminio Perez and escort nurse Emelita Pardiñas.

OFW Perez fell from the second floor veranda of her employer's house in Irbid, Jordan on 19 July 2005 after an alleged altercation with her lady Jordanian employer over the use of Ms. Perez's cell phone. The case against the employer filed by the Embassy through its appointed lawyer is still pending at the Irbid Court of First Instance.

OFW Perez was treated and confined at Ibn Al Haytham Hospital, Amman for more than nine  months. At the time of repatriation, her total hospital bill reached US$91,000, US$34,000 of which was paid by OWWA, US$7,000 by the President's Office, US$6,000 from Filipino community and Jordanian recruitment agents' donations and US$6,000 from her insurance. The hospital allowed the repatriation of OFW Perez after Ambassador Del Rosario, Jr. and Labor Attaché Mohammad Nur Aldin Tamano signed a joint undertaking that the Philippine government will pay the balance of the bill at an unspecified date.

Ambassador Del Rosario, Jr. earlier called on Jordan's Minister of Interior Eid Fayez and appealed for the condonation of OFW Perez and her father's overstay penalties. Minister Fayez granted the condonation and approved the repatriation of OFW Perez.  (Please refer to press release SFA-AGR-PR117, dated 23 February 2006  and photo release also dated 23 February 2006, for the background information.)

The Ambassador said he is pleased that Ms. Perez is now reunited with the rest of her family in the Philippines and expressed the hope that this will lead to her speedier recovery. Other Embassy officials who sent off OFW Perez at Jordan's international airport include Vice Consul Mark Francis Hamoy, Labor Attaché Mohammad Nur Aldin Tamano, Welfare Officer Evelyn Laranang, OWWA Administrative Assistance Absalon Aguilar, Jr. and Protocol Officer Gerardo Tabangin. END