JEDDAH, 27 July 2007 — If you know the identity of this Filipino whose picture is shown here, don’t hesitate to call the Philippine Consulate General.
The man died three weeks ago at the Hai Al Jamaea Hospital in Jeddah’s Jamea district but his corpse cannot be sent to his family in the Philippines as his identity has not been established, said hospital and consulate officials.
Dr. Mohammed Rashed, Hai Al Jamaea director, said the man was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital on July 6 by a Filipino woman who gave her name only as Iluminada. The woman later disappeared.
Rashed said the patient, who was in his 50s, was “medically in a very bad shape” when he was brought to the hospital and all the effort to save him were in vain.
“The cause of his death was cardiopulmonary arrest due to markedly elevated blood pressure and possible brain hemorrhage,” said Rashed in a letter to the consulate.
He said the patient did not have any identification document.
Rico Silva of the consulate’s Assistance to Nationals Section yesterday said the only information the consulate has received so far was that the dead man was named Fernando Bohol.
But he said they were still checking with the absentee voter’s registration records and with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in Manila to confirm the information.
Silva said the standard procedure is for Hai Al Jamaea Hospital to transfer the body to the King Fahd Hospital, but the police won’t allow that without proper identification.
He said any information from community members, especially on the man’s name and employer or sponsor in the Kingdom, would be welcome.
“We are calling on anyone who could help us identify this dead person to please tell us whatever information you know,” Silva said.
The Philippine Consulate in Jeddah can be reached at (02) 667-0925 or 660-0348.