DFA working closely with Saudi authorities to obtain justice for Mancilla
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is closely coordinating with Saudi Arabian authorities to ensure that justice is given to an overseas Filipina worker who is in serious condition after her employer allegedly forced her to drink household bleach.
In a statement on Monday, the DFA said the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah is closely monitoring the condition of Agnes Mancilla, a household service worker who remains in serious but stable condition at the King Fahad Central Hospital in Jizan, southwestern Saudi Arabia.
“We would like to assure our kababayans that we are working closely with authorities in Jizan to make sure that justice will be given to Agnes Mancilla,” Consul General Edgar Badajos said.
The DFA said Mancilla was rushed unconscious to the Jizan King Fahd Central Hospital by concerned Filipinos on April 2 after her lady employer allegedly forced her to ingest household bleach.
The agency said Mancilla underwent laparotomy immediately after she was taken to the hospital to flush out the bleach from her stomach. Doctors also found burn marks on her back.
Badajos said consulate officials had already visited Mancilla and made representations with authorities in Jizan to make sure that appropriate charges would be filed against her employer who was arrested by police.
The DFA official said Mancilla has been working in Saudi Arabia since 2016 but was repeatedly physically abused by her lady employer and was not being paid her salary.
Just last Saturday, President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated that the government was doing everything to put an end to abuses against Filipino migrant workers in the Middle East.
READ: Duterte says gov’t seeking end to abuses vs OFWs
He issued the statement after he met with Fahima Alagasi, the Filipino domestic helper who suffered severe burn injuries after she was doused with boiling water by her female employer in Riyadh in 2014 and had recently returned home to the country./ee
READ: Duterte visits maid scalded by employer’s mother in Riyadh
