Twenty-seven-year-old Irene dela Virgen appeared at the studio of Inquirer Radio with tales of the horror she suffered in Saudi Arabia. She was detained, beaten, starved and received no salaries from her three employers. Bantay OCW initially got the complaint through an overseas call from Irene’s aunt, Marilyn, who is based in Athens, Greece. Her husband Mario from Nueva Ecija, together with Marilyn’s daughter Lejani, then sought the assistance of our program. We endorsed them to the office of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration administrator Hans Leo Cacdac for the necessary filing of Irene’s case. POEA immediately ordered Raysa International, the agency that deployed Irene, to send the distressed overseas Filipino worker an airline ticket and bring her home. The order warned that noncompliance within 15 days would result in a suspension of the agency’s license to operate. Irene had recounted her ordeal in the hands of her employers in Saudi. According to her contract, processed at the POEA, her employer was Mohammed Abdullah Abdulazis Salimi. Upon her arrival at the Salimi residence, the wife, who is a teacher, instructed her to proceed to her room and to just stay there. For four days, she stayed in the room without food or drinking water. On the fourth day, Irene was transferred to a second employer, the “Madame’s” fellow teacher. During the first two days, she was not given food. On the third day, she was given a small piece of bread and a cup of coffee. The second employer would bring Read More …
