MANILA — The administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte was “truly delighted” with the favorable outcome of the case of Pahima “Candies” Alagasi, the Filipina domestic worker scalded by her employer in Saudi Arabia four years ago.
“We are happy, especially President (Rodrigo) Duterte, that the government was able to help and brought home Pahima who is now with his family,” Special Assistant to the President (SAF) Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go said in a press statement on April 14.
Duterte met with Pahima on Saturday in Davao City, a day after she was repatriated from Saudi Arabia.
Go said the government will continue to help distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), including 35,000 in Saudi Arabia where at least 937,000 OFWs are reportedly working as of 2017.
“We will continue to help our OFW countrymen, in any way we can assist them, be it a legal matter or be it labor and employer-related,” Go said.
“Like we have always been saying, the gates of Malacañang are always open and the ears of government officials will always listen to whatever problems our fellow Filipinos are experiencing,” he added.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Alagasi received PHP50,000 from its Assistance to Nationals fund, apart from support to be provided by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Pahima was just 22 years old and only two months in Saudi on May 4, 2014, when the mother of her employer scalded her back with boiling water after she dropped the cap of water heater while preparing coffee.
She escaped and sued her employer for maltreatment but the case was dismissed by a Saudi prosecutor.
Pahima’s employer filed a counter-complaint, forcing her to stay in Saudi through the help of Bahay Kalinga, a shelter run by the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh.
When Duterte met with Saudi Prince and Interior Minister Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif in Malacanang on March 19, the Filipino leader brought up Alagasi’s case.
With the help of the Saudi Prince, Alagasi’s case has been resolved and her repatriation was immediately arranged by the Philippine embassy in Riyadh. (Jelly Musico/PNA)
