JEDDAH, 6 May 2004 — A quadriplegic Filipino patient at the King Fahd General Hospital is being “forced” by his sponsor to take an ordinary airline seat home to Manila immediately, despite his frail and delicate physical condition, Arab News has learned.

Sponsor Gassan Al Sulaiman of Gassan Motors is blaming the Philippine Consulate for the delay in repatriating Gelacio Pamandanan, who was taken to hospital in January when he was said to have suffered a stroke.

Working as a cook for 7 years, the 56-year-old native of Bulacan province, north of Manila, is now confined at the hospital’s ward 451-B.

Arab News learned from the hospital’s medical staff that Pamandanan was suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome, or GBS, an illness which causes the motor nerves to stop functioning.

As a result, his entire body is paralyzed and he can barely move his eyes. A breathing apparatus had been attached through a hole bored through his throat to keep him alive.

Apparently fed up paying Pamandanan’s hospital bills, Sulaiman gave the consulate until May 8 to repatriate the patient.

Any hospital bills that will be incurred after that date would be shouldered by the consulate, the sponsor reportedly told consulate officials. To show that it meant business, the sponsor sent Pamandanan’s passport and a cheque amounting to 1,600 riyals to the consulate by courier.

Labor Attaché Nasser Munder, head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jeddah, said it’s all the sponsor’s fault. He said the sponsor would not be continually paying the hospital bills had it granted the consulate’s “humanitarian” request early on.

Munder said the request included a 3-seat paid plane ticket for the patient, who cannot sit because of his illness. Doctors attending to Pamandanan refuse to give clearance for his travel unless such request is granted or guaranteed. Another ticket is required for whoever will escort the patient to Manila.

Pamandanan, who is carrying a private worker visa, is not assured of getting any benefits from the sponsor, Munder said. Even then, he said the POLO has asked the Saudi Labor Office to see whatever money entitlement Pamandanan can get.

Assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) office in Manila had also been sought but no response has been received so far, Munder said.

Filipino medical workers at King Fahd General Hospital, on the other hand, wondered what the OWWA staff in Jeddah was doing to help the patient.

Pamandanan is an active member of the OWWA, Arab News learned.

“The OWWA office should assign at least one personnel to regularly check on cases like this. Isn’t this supposed to be one of the reasons why OFWs are being forced to pay a membership fee with OWWA?” one nurse asked.

The OWWA charges a $25 fee every time an OFW signs a new contract with a foreign employer. Critics have said the Arroyo administration ignored protests against the forced payment because the OWWA had gone bankrupt through fund mismanagement and exorbitant benefits for its employees.