The body of Danielly T. Ubungen in Davao was supposed to have been repatriated to his family in southern Philippines, but they discovered to their horror it was not him.
"After being informed by the Department of Foreign Affairs of the mistake, the embassy immediately contacted the sponsor and the shipper to seek an explanation for the error," the embassy said on Saturday.
Ubungen was one of four victims who died after being caught in an acetylene tank blast at the place he was working in Riyadh. The other three were Indian nationals. At the time of going to press the embassy, sponsor and the shipper were investigating how the mistake occurred.
The embassy clarified that under Saudi law, repatriating the remains of an expatriate worker who has died in the Kingdom is the responsibility of the sponsor, adding that not only is the employer obliged to obtain all documents required for the shipment, but should also secure the flight to the Philippines.
"It is also the duty of the employer to visit the hospital morgue and sign for the release of the remains. It is at this stage the employer verifies the identity of the body before it is placed in the casket and transported to the airport," the embassy said.
An embassy official who had been coordinating with the sponsor and the shipper said that a mistake in identification was likely to be committed because the four corpses were burned beyond recognition after the acetylene tank blast.
"Two of the victims had 70 percent and 30 percent burns respectively," he said. The remains of the two Indian nationals had been repatriated, although the third one was still at the hospital morgue.
The official added that the sponsor had been in touch with Ubungen’s wife and that she had signed an affidavit saying that it was fine with the family if the remains had been buried.
He added that the sponsor takes care of everything that's due to Ubungen's family and that the embassy's only responsibility is to issue a certificate of no objection required by Saudi authorities for the shipment of the remains.
