Filipino expat seeks help to locate missing parents

An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) here has appealed for help to find his mother whom he has not seen for 16 years and his father who left the family 28 years ago.

Jimmy “Jim Jam” Cubilla, 28, from Alang Alang in Leyte, near Tacloban City in the Philippines, now working in Al-Majmah in Riyadh region, last saw his mother when he was 12. His father left to seek work in Manila when he was six months old and never returned.

Cubilla said his biological father is Jun Magtasa, from Cagayan de Oro City and his mother is Lucy Cubilla from Leyte.

“After a year, my mother also left to find work in Manila to support me while I was staying with my grandparents. My mother came home to see me, but the last time she returned to attend my elementary graduation she was with my stepfather whose name is Edgar Sanugal,” he told Arab News.

“After staying for two weeks, they also left with an intention to take me with them but I was already attached to my grandparents, whom I consider my real parents,” he said.

In a telephone interview, Cubilla told Arab News he was hopeful he would find his parents using social networks.

Arab News came across the story through Freda Editha Contreras, an OFW and blogger based in Kuwait, who asked Arab News to highlight his plight.

Cubilla is currently working at a restaurant in Al-Majmah, on the outskirts of Riyadh. Four years ago, he had worked for a housekeeping company based in central Riyadh, his first venture as an OFW.

According to Contreras’ last post, two days after his call for help, Cubilla received a text message from a woman claiming to be the wife of his father. The woman, Vicky Cruz, currently resides in Cagayan de Oro City.

But yesterday Cubilla told Arab News that he has yet to locate his parents. He did contact the person, who bears the same family name, but could not confirm if the story was true. He was told that his father died in 1995.

“My life will not be complete without seeing my parents,” Cubilla said. The very least he wants is to find and help them, he said.

A Facebook user, he posted a message on his timeline on Jan. 25, 2014, asking his friends to help him locate his parents. He also joined a number of Facebook groups, which he thought could help him in his search.

Contreras said on her blog that she had advised Cubilla to start the search through proper channels. She also told him he would have to be patient and prepared for the media to ask him questions.

Source: Google Alert - "Leyte"