A runaway maid who had taken refuge at the Philippine Consulate General's shelter here died of lung cancer last Friday, consulate officials said Sunday. Belen Mirador, 54, who hailed from Lambunao in Iloilo, died at 2 A.M. Friday, three days after she was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) at the consulate said. Dr. Romualdo Exmundo, an OWWA physician, said Mirado had been suffering from lung cancer and was taken to the hospital after she complained of breathing difficulties. “She was having difficulty in breathing when Dr. Exmundo took her to the hospital Tuesday afternoon,” said another runaway maid who has also taken shelter at the consulate's half-way home. OWWA officials said Mirado was found to be suffering from lung cancer when she was admitted at the half-way home officially called the Filipino Workers Resource Center on Dec. 17, 2008. Exmundo said Mirador had told him that she did not have any medication due to financial difficulties and that was why she sought the help of OWWA for her repatriation. OWWA officials were talking to Ferrer's employer for her repatriation when she died on Friday, a week after OWWA sent home 65-year-old Fely Borlongan, another runaway maid who had also sought refuge at the shelter. “It's a pity to see our kababayan (compatriot) dying helplessly, but what we can do? The biggest problem we always encounter is securing an exit visa. How can we get an exit visa for a distressed worker if her sponsor is not cooperating?” Exmundo said. “I hope we can find a better way to reduce the problems being experienced by our distressed workers. Even if we have tickets but if there is no exit visa there is no way a distressed worker can go home.” Exmundo said OWWA has already informed Mirador's family in the Philippines and they are now processing the documents to repatriate her remains. Mirador was among 40 distressed OFWs currently taking shelter at the OWWA's halfway home. Last year the number of distressed maids at the shelter reached to more than 70 but 32 of them were sent home in January, including a mentally disturbed runaway domestic helper.
