Pinay Who Saved Baby In Hong Kong Blaze Now Stable, Hailed As Hero

A Filipina worker who saved a baby during the massive fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Nov. 26 is now in stable condition, according to the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong.

Consul General Romulo Victor Israel Jr. broke the news during an interview on dzMM on Monday, Dec. 1, on the condition of overseas Filipino worker Rhodora Alcaraz Tuñacao, 28, who saved a three-month-old baby – by embracing the infant and protecting him from heavy smoke for several hours – before rescuers found her, her employer’s three-month-old baby and elderly mother.

All three survived the fire. However, Tuñacao was brought to the intensive care unit where her condition was critical. Over the weekend, her condition improved and she is now stable.

“We were able to speak to her (on Sunday, Nov. 30). The last time I visited her on Saturday (Nov. 29), she was still intubated, could not speak and was sedated,” Israel said in Filipino.

“But she felt our presence, opened her eyes and gave us the thumbs up.”

“(On Sunday), the tube was gone and she was able to speak a little. She recounted to us everything that happened in the building. She is now stable and the prognosis is good. Her vital signs are stable,” the consul general added.

“Hopefully, in a few days, her condition gets better so she can be discharged from the hospital. She’s very interested to know what happened to the baby – she’s been asking all the doctors about the infant. That’s probably just showing how caring Filipinos are,” Israel said.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said Tuñacao is undergoing proper treatment and will receive all necessary assistance from the Philippine government.

Personnel from the OWWA regional office also visited Tuñacao’s family and extended the appropriate assistance to them.

A hero

Tuñacao was hailed as a hero after emerging from a deadly Hong Kong tower fire.

Just a day after arriving in the city, Tuñacao, who is from Laguna, found herself trapped and alone with her new employer’s loved ones in the family’s smoke-filled Wang Fuk Court apartment before being rescued by firefighters just in time, according to accounts of her ordeal shared by her family and friends.

Alcaraz’s story has for some highlighted the enduring role of the city’s hundreds of thousands of domestic helpers who cook, clean and care for the young and elderly, often living in cramped spaces and earning modest wages in one of the world’s most expensive cities.

“Saludo ako sa iyo, Rhodora, at sa lahat ng (overseas Filipino workers) na patuloy na nagsasakripisyo para sa kanilang pamilya kahit malayo sa bansa (I salute you, Rhodora, and all OFWs who continue to sacrifice for their families even while far from home,” Sen. Imee Marcos, the sister of the President Marcos, said in a Facebook post on Sunday after visiting Alcaraz in hospital.

She posted a photo of Alcaraz lying in a hospital bed wearing a purple gown and a face mask and giving a thumbs up.

“A true modern-day hero and a model of compassion and courage of Filipinos in a foreign land,” OWWA said in a Facebook post on Saturday, prompting hundreds of comments from well-wishers.

Her employer’s baby and mother were also admitted to intensive care but were in a stable condition, her employer Kanon Chung said in a Facebook post.

Former employer prayed for miracle

Panicked audio messages Alcaraz sent to her sister during Wednesday’s blaze – that killed at least 151 people – went viral after they were shared online by family and friends trying to locate her in the chaotic aftermath.

“I’m feeling very weak. I can’t breathe,” she said in one of the clips, sobbing and struggling to speak.

Rhoda Lynn Dayo, Alcaraz’s former employer, was among those trying to reach people in Hong Kong to help establish her whereabouts, she said.

“I truly expected that she wouldn’t be found anymore. So I prayed: Please God ... Perform a miracle, Lord,” she said.

Alcaraz, known by the nickname Jackie, had cared for Dayo’s children from the age of 17 for more than four years back in the Philippines.

She was so trusted by the family that Dayo said she was comfortable leaving her children with Alcaraz even when she had to travel to the US.

“The way she cared for the kids was different — there was real love ... I don’t doubt that she would put her life on the line for the child she was caring for,” Dayo said.

Nine Indonesian domestic workers and one Filipino are confirmed among the dead at Wang Fuk Court, the city’s deadliest fire in more than 75 years. More than 40 people remain missing.

There are around 368,000 foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, according to the latest figures, accounting for nearly a tenth of the workforce. The majority come from the Philippines and Indonesia, and in recent years there have been increasing numbers from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand.

Like many of her peers, Alcaraz – who has eight siblings – decided to work overseas to earn higher wages she could send back home to support her family.

She worked for two years in Qatar, before taking up the job in Hong Kong.

“We are poor. Our father is just a fisherman, that is why she decided to work abroad to help the family,” Alcaraz’s younger sister, Raychell Loreto, said.

“We are so proud of our sister,” she added.

Meanwhile, OWWA expressed deep sadness over the death of Filipino domestic helper Maryan Pascual Esteban. She was among the over 120 lives lost in the massive fire.

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Cacdac and OWWA Administrator PY Caunan immediately visited the family of Esteban in their home in Cainta, Rizal.

OWWA noted that Esteban was an active member of the agency and thus, her family will receive all mandated benefits.

Cacdac said the government will exert efforts to repatriate the remains of Esteban at the soonest possible time.

Esteban’s child, who dreams of becoming a firefighter, will receive education support under OWWA’s Education and Livelihood Assistance Program.

Still missing

Four Filipino workers are still unaccounted for, according to the DMW.

“We are still trying to account for, I think, three or four more,” Cacdac said in a television interview on Monday.

He said 84 Filipinos have been accounted for and declared safe.

“We are hoping, of course that we will account for everybody,” Cacdac added. – With Reuters News Agency