PH embassy officials to visit Filipino truck driver in Riyadh blast

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez. CATHY MIRANDA/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Saudi Arabian authorities have granted the request of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh to visit the Filipino truck driver who has been under investigation for allegedly being responsible for the Riyadh explosion last week that killed at least 23 people.

Ruben Kebeng, the 43-year old truck driver who had been working in Saudi Arabia for a year, was being investigated by the criminal investigation office in Riyadh.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez told reporters Thursday that he had spoken with Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin Tago and was told that a visit was being arranged.

“He told me that a visit is now being arranged by the embassy and coordinated with the Saudi authorities. And they are just waiting for the time when this would be possible,” Hernandez said. He added that they hoped that the date for the visit would be arranged soon.

Hernandez had earlier noted that embassy officials in the middle-eastern country, headed by Tago, had sent a note verbale or diplomatic note to the government requesting for consular access to the Filipino after they were denied a first visit.

Hernandez, in the interview, said that authorities had told the embassy officials that Kebeng was in good condition and that he was still under investigation. He, however, said he could not say how long the investigation would last and would just wait from further information from the authorities.

Based on the report received by the DFA from Tago, Kebeng was part of a five-truck convoy passing through the road when the accident occurred. The five drivers, all of them Filipinos, survived.

Reports from Saudi Arabia noted that the truck veered to a bridge pylon at a junction on Khurais Road in Riyadh Thursday morning last week, causing a gas leak that spread out and then burst into flames, destroying nearby cars and a business.

Spokesperson Capt. Mohamed Hubail Hammadi had been quoted as saying that the tanker driver was surprised by a road accident on its route, causing it to crash into one of the pillars of the bridge. Saed al-Tweiri, the civil defense chief who confirmed that the fire had been brought under control, had blamed the tanker driver for the accident.

Meanwhile, Hernandez noted that Saudi authorities had recommended a DNA testing of the remains of Florentino Santiago, the lone Filipino fatality in the accident. Santiago served as a Filipino worker in a tractor company in Riyadh.

“It was one of the recommendations of the Saudi government because of its strict directive about identifying the body, especially that it was practically burned,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez added that this could affect the repatriation of Santiago’s remains back to the Philippines.