Filipina fatality in Iraq fire identified

The government has already identified the Filipino woman engineer who was killed in a fire in Iraq on Friday (Manila time). Maricar Cente, a telecommunications engineer in Asiacell Mobile Company, was among the fatalities in the fire that hit Hotel SOMA in Sulaimania City, according to Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Malaya. He said Cente was identified by the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad. Cente’s husband has already been informed about his wife’s death, Malaya said. The DFA spokesperson likewise said that the department is currently making arrangements for the transport of Cente’s remains to the Philippines. At least 40 people—mostly Filipinos, Cambodians and Sri Lankans—were killed in a fire that razed Hotel SOMA located in northern Iraq. The cause of the blaze has yet to be known, according to Malaya. Two other Filipinos— Morelo Ermitano and Richie Salceda— were among those hurt in the incident, Malaya said. Ermitano is still recuperating from a broken leg, while Salceda has already been discharged from the hospital, he added. Filipinos have been prohibited from working in Iraq since 2004 after a series of suicide bombing attacks and abduction of foreigners followed the US-led war. Despite the ban, a total of 10,000 to 15,000 Filipinos are believed to be working in Iraq, mostly inside heavily fortified US facilities. - Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMANews.TV