PHILIPPINE EMBASSY OFFICALS SET TO VISIT JAILED TRUCK DRIVER IN SAUDI

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - Officials of the Philippine embassy in Riyadh are set to visit a Filipino held in custody by Saudi authorities following a fuel tanker explosion in the Saudi capital Riyadh that killed 23 people, including another Filipino worker.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said Thursday that Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Ezzedin Tago is scheduling a visit with Ruben Kebeng within the week so he can be properly assisted in his legal defense.

President Benigno Aquino III also instructed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to provide litigation assistance to Kebeng through their legal assistance fund.

• Kebeng is being considered as a suspect in the blast and is now under detention at the Criminal Investigation Office (CIO) in Riyadh. He was driving the fuel tanker when it slammed against a bridge and exploded last week.
• A Filipino, Florentino Santiago, was among the 23 people who died in the explosion, while over a hundred other people, including 10 Filipinos, were injured in the blast.
• Hernandez said Tago was given assurance by Saudi authorities that Kebeng is in good condition but the CIO's own investigation is still ongoing.
• Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) Director Carmelita Dimzon, meanwhile, reached out to the families of the Filipino truck drivers from Mankayan, Benguet who were among the blast victims.
• Dimzon admitted the agency has not gotten in touch with Kebeng yet, but assured the relatives of the truck driver and his fellow workers that the government is doing everything to help them.
• The Philippine Embassy reports said the gasoline tanker allegedly driven by Kebeng hit a flyover resulting in an explosion that razed a portion of an industrial district and other trucks parked nearby.

Kebeng’s family sought the help of the government to ensure justice is served for their loved one, while the Owwa already tasked its welfare officers to reach Kebeng and provide legal assistance.

Novena (left), wife of jailed Saudi truck driver Ruben Kebeng, and brother, Ador, relate to Owwa administrator Carmelita Dimzon (right) the difficulties the family is experiencing.

The Owwa head also said the Saudi government assured Philippine Embassy officials that they will allow Kebeng to talk to them soon but they are placing him under safekeeping while tension is high.

Source: Sun Star, Inquirer GN