BACOLOD CITY — The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has endorsed to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) the case of a migrant worker from Bacolod who has been detained by the police in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Rizza Joy Moldes, OWWA-Bacolod focal person, said the case involves police matter since caregiver Wilmar Sayson was believed to have taken an unauthorized video of his ward.
Moldes said taking unauthorized video is prohibited in Arab countries.
OWWA-Bacolod officials accompanied Sayson’s family to the DFA office here to seek assistance on Monday.
“This is to provide appropriate assistance especially for the family’s request for repatriation,” Moldes said.
In their communication to the representative of Amera Manpower, hiring agency of Sayson, OWWA-Bacolod learned that the OFW is still detained and the investigation of his case is ongoing.
“We are not yet sure of the specific charges his employer might file against him,” she said.
Last week, Sayson, 27, resident of Barangay Handumanan, posted a series of videos on Facebook asking for help.
His live video on September 25 showed him crying after he was punched by his male employer who allegedly got angry with him based on the stories made up by his fellow caregiver.
Sayson, who went abroad in August last year for a two-year contract as a household worker, said he was fired by his employer without getting paid.
On September 26, Sayson’s family reported the incident to the OWWA office here.
Based on Sayson’s live video on the same day, he was in a coffee shop with a fellow Filipino who helped him to look for his agency. In a subsequent video, he showed himself inside a taxi going to his agency’s office.
On September 29, in his last video post, Sayson was seen crying for help as he was arrested by the police.
On Monday, the family members of Sayson again went to the OWWA-Bacolod office to follow-up on his case.
Susan, Sayson’s mother, said her son has been helping their family in terms of finances, but with what had happened to him, all they want is for him to go home. (Erwin Nicavera/PNA)
