RIYADH, 24 February 2007 — Antonio Oralde Jr., the Filipino worker who was mauled on the night of Feb. 7 by a suspected gang of youngsters in Riyadh, died early yesterday, the Philippine Embassy said.
Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor and medical staff of the Riyadh Care Hospital (RCH), where the 29-year-old worker was confined, said the victim was pronounced dead by doctors at 12:30 a.m.
Villamor himself relayed the sad news to the family of Oralde in General Mariano Alvarez town of Cavite province, south of Manila.
Oralde was brought by a Red Crescent ambulance team to the RCH before dawn on Feb. 8, a few hours after he went missing while delivering broasted chicken to an unknown group of costumers of Chicken Plus, a fast-food restaurant that employed him.
His co-workers said he left the restaurant in Al-Rayan District on 11 p.m. to deliver the order of the costumers who were at a parking lot nearby. After 20 minutes when he had not returned, they called him but never got an answer. His co-workers found out later that he was at the RCH when a hospital staff answered their call to his cellular phone.
According to the medical report of Dr. Ahmad Gamal Eldin Tammam, the neurosurgeon who attended to the victim, Oralde was comatose and “nearly pulseless” when he was brought to the hospital. He was declared brain dead and placed on a life-support system.
Embassy officials said police handling the case have yet to find any witness who could shed light on the violence against Oralde, known to be the breadwinner for his family.
Police said the lone witness, a Syrian national, saw only a body being dumped from a car on the roadside meters away from Chicken Plus. It turned out to be Oralde’s. Police said that the witness was not able to identify the plate number and the car.
Outpouring of Support
If it were a consolation, the family of Oralde stood to collect insurance for his death since he is an active member of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). His employer also promised to give to his family the benefits due him.
In addition, community members have passed the hat around in an outpouring of grief.
The Alpha Phi Omega Riyadh Alumni Association (APORAA) raised more than 5,155 riyals on Thursday night. The collection was originally intended for the plane ticket of Gina, eldest sister of Oralde who signified her intention earlier to come to Riyadh to to attend to her youngest brother.
“Now that Tony is gone, we will remit the collection directly to the bank account of his sister,” said Rodel Yap, the immediate past president of APORAA, who initiated the fund drive. Aside from APORAA, the Computer Society of Filipinos (Comsofil) also collected voluntary contributions from its members and students and said it would send the money directly to the savings account of Gina with Metro Bank: Account No. 3-31343837-7 under the name Gina O. Larin, Metro Bank branch in Carmona, Cavite.
More individuals and groups have actually initiated similar fund drives, Arab News learned, but Yap hoped that they are not just riding on the issue or taking advantage of the situation.
“Let’s be vigilant of groups who are just glorifying themselves through announcement of their intention. I heard of one who has already initiated collecting donations, but they should know what transparency and accountability is all about,” Yap warned.
Gina promised that all donations would be used to fulfil their brother’s dream of making a house for his siblings.
