By PNA and Roy C. Mabasa
The Filipina domestic worker in Saudi Arabia who was scalded with boiling water four years ago is scheduled to arrive in the country today after a four-year legal battle with her employer, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday.
Pahima Alagasi would depart for Manila last night after the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh secured the assistance of Saudi authorities in clearing her exit from the Gulf state, said the DFA.
Alagasi left the country in March 2014 and served as a household service worker in Riyadh. Two months later, she sought refuge at the embassy after she was hospitalized with serious burns that she claimed she sustained after the mother of her employer poured boiling water on her back.
The Embassy assisted Alagasi, a separated mother of two from Pikit, North Cotabato, in filing a case of maltreatment against the mother of her employer. However, this was dismissed after she failed to prove her accusation.
The overseas Filipino worker has been staying at the Embassy’s Bahay Kalinga shelter since then and could not return to the Philippines after her employer filed a counter case against her.
Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Adnan Alonto cited the critical role of Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif who approved her final exit from the kingdom.
“Pahima’s return would not have been possible without the help of Prince Abdulaziz and we would like to express our profound gratitude to him for his magnanimous gesture,” said Alonto, who would be accompanying Alagasi on her flight to Manila.
The envoy said it was Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Nasser Al-Daood who informed him during a meeting last Sunday that Alagasi could now return to the Philippines.
During that meeting, Al-Daood also turned over to Alagasi two months worth of unpaid salaries from her employer.
Alagasi said she is grateful to finally be able to come home after waiting for the resolution of her case.
