Filipina U.N. Aid Worker Perishes in Pakistani Hotel Blast

A dedicated Filipina UNICEF worker doing humanitarian work in Pakistan, died along with 10 others in a suicide bombing incident in her hotel in Pakistan. The Filipina worker was doing humanitarian work in Peshawar for Pakistan's most vulnerable people.

A Filipina UN aid worker died along with 10 others when a group of suicide bombers rammed a truck followed by two other vehicles into a luxury hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan Tuesday. The truck reportedly carried half a ton of explosives. The Filipina aid worker was identified as Perseveranda So, a 52 year old staffer of UNICEF, an agency of the United Nations. Percy as she was known to her co-workers was among the UN workers billeted at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan. At the time of the bombing, the hotel was temporary home to humanitarian workers who provide life support to Pakistan’s most vulnerable people. Guardian co. uk reports:

At least three suicide attackers shot their way past guards and set off the explosion outside the hotel, a favorite spot for foreigners and well-off Pakistanis and a site that the U.S. was considering for its consulate.

The attack reduced a section of the hotel to concrete rubble and twisted steel and left a huge crater in a parking lot. Senior police official Safwat Ghayur said counter terrorism experts, police and intelligence agents were combing the rubble for clues Wednesday

No one claimed responsibility for the attack but the blast came after insurgents in neighboring Afghanistan earlier threatened to carry out major attacks in urban areas in response to the military offensive against them. ‘The Filipina UN worker was in Peshawar, a dangerous and difficult environment, helping implement programs to assist girls in gaining access to the education they so desperately need’ said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. ‘She was a dedicated and highly committed staff member who work with grace and determination as Chief of Education in Pakistan, earning the respect and admiration of all these with whom she came into contact’ she added. In the Philippines, the UNICEF country representative, Vanessa Tobin, described Percy as ‘a passionate worker who dedicated her life to the promotion of a child’s right to education’ not only in Pakistan but in her home country. Ammi Armas, a school mate of Percy at the Philippine Science High School and a neighbor of this writer said: ‘It is sad that she had to die this way. This news encourages us to truly pray for God's kingdom to continue to reign despite many efforts from the Kingdom of Darkness to sow terror and evil in our world. She asked me to ‘please pray for her family and friends’. I said yes, and will ask my friends and my readers to pray for her eternal repose.