By ROY C. MABASA
A 36-year-old female household service worker is now recovering at a Saudi Arabian hospital after being forced to drink household bleach by her employer, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Agnes Mancilla, who was employed two years ago, told Consul General Edgar Badajos that her lady employer was furious for not preparing tea properly.
Mancilla also narrated the maltreatment she received, including being made to work 21 hours a day – from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. She also said she has not been fed anything except coffee for almost 40 days.
Mancilla was rushed unconscious by concerned members of the Filipino community to the Jizan King Fahd Central Hospital on April 2.
She underwent laparotomy immediately to flush out the bleach from her stomach. Doctors also found burn marks on her back.
The marks actually were bite marks, Mencilla told Badajos.
“Kinakagat daw siya palagi ng amo niyang babae tuwing nagkakamali siya,” Badajos said.
“Despite her condition, Agnes Mancilla was able to share her horrifying story of abuse in the hands of her employer,” the DFA said.
Mancilla was initially based in Jeddah but transferred last year to Jizan where the maltreatment allegedly started.
She has been without contact with her family in the Philippines for almost two years because her employers confiscated her phone.
The Philippine government is now working closely with authorities in Saudi Arabia to make sure that the employer of Mancilla is held accountable.
In a statement issued yesterday, the DFA reported that Badajos will be seeing authorities in Jizan who are handling Mencilla’s case to ensure that the proper charges would be filed against her employer.
The DFA gave its assurance that the Philippine government always looks after the welfare of its nationals abroad and is always ready to extend the necessary assistance to distressed OFWs wherever they may be.
“We always work with host governments in making sure that the rights of our kababayans are respected,” it stressed.
The DFA further emphasized that there are existing bilateral mechanisms in addressing cases of abuse in countries where Filipinos go to work.
“In the case of Agnes, we are working closely with authorities in Saudi Arabia in making sure her employer is held accountable,” the DFA said.