Press Release No. 19-2018

PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL AND POLO-OWWA IN JEDDAH RESCUE 2 HOUSEHOLD SERVICE WORKERS

(Jeddah, 12 April 2018) - The Philippine Consulate General and POLO-OWWA in Jeddah, with the assistance of concerned members of the Filipino community, rescued two Filipino household service workers in Najran and Al Baha Regions in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia on 11 and 12 April 2018, respectively.

On April 11, a rescue team from the Consulate successfully negotiated the issuance of the final exit visa of the household service worker who ran away from her employer in Najran (about 860 kilometers from Jeddah). A Filipino community leader in the area initially coordinated her concerns with the local police and provided her with temporary shelter until Consulate personnel arrived and finalized an agreement with the concerned employer.

On the next day, personnel from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jeddah went to Baljurasi, Al Baha Region (about 390 kilometers from Jeddah) and took custody of the other runaway worker. Filipinos working in a local hospital provided the worker with temporary shelter and later alerted the Consulate about her plight.

Welfare Officer Yolanda U. Peñaranda with one of the distressed worker and concerned OFWs in Al Baha

The Philippine Consulate General and POLO-OWWA in Jeddah are firmly committed to ensuring the safety and security of Filipino workers wherever they may be in the western region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. END