Families of 2 Pinay OFWs who died in Saudi Arabia seek help from gov’t

The families of two Filipina Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) asked help from the government to uncover the events that led to their deaths in Saudi Arabia, Mark Salazar reported Monday on 24 Oras.

Jelyn Arguzon was deployed to Saudi Arabia on June 16 but after a week, she told her husband that she was experiencing maltreatment from her employers.

“Nung pagkalipat niya po sa ibang bahay, kinuha daw po ang passport nya. ‘Di daw maganda ang ugali ng amo niya. Minsan daw nagkakape siya, tinapon ang tasa niya,” husband Jerriel Arguzon said.

(When she was transferred to a different house, they took her passport. Her employer was not a good person. One time she was having coffee, he threw her cup.)

Jelyn’s family went to the recruitment agency after they could no longer contact her since June 28.

Leaniz Palcone, president of Insana Int’l Placement Agency, said when they called the employer, they said Jelyn was fine and that she will return to the office.

But Senate Committee on Migrant Workers chairman Senator Raffy Tulfo was not satisfied with Palcone’s answer and reprimanded them for not reaching out to the Philippine Embassy and Saudi authorities.

Jelyn’s family also approached the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on July 19.

OWWA Administrator Arnell Ignacio said it was in contact with the recruitment agency. That is why it was able to respond to Jelyn’s family.

On July 29, the family received the news that Jelyn passed away due to “cardiac arrest”.

“Ang resulta ng autopsy ni Jelyn ay natural death ang lumabas. Hindi po natin tinatanggap ito kaya't ang next course of action is an autopsy here in the Philippines. Meron po ako ring ulat tungkol sa mga nakatanaw ng katawan ni Jelyn at buong buo ang kanyang katawan, therefore an autopsy in the Philippines is very very feasible through the NBI, National Bureau of Investigation,” Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said.

(The autopsy results showed that Jelyn died of natural death. We do not accept this so our next course of action is to conduct an autopsy in the Philippines. We received a report that the body of Jelyn is intact. Therefore, an autopsy in the Philippines is very feasible through the NBI, National Bureau of Investigation.)

Meanwhile, the family of Roilyn Sayson last talked to her on July 15.

According to her husband, Sayson was always locked inside a room.

Sayson was reported dead on July 16 due to “natural death”, which her family does not believe.

The licenses of the recruitment agencies of the two OFWs were suspended.

The NBI said it will also conduct its own autopsy once the remains of the two OFWs arrive in the country.

Once it receives evidence, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it will ask the Saudi government to file charges against the employers of the two OFWs.— Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News