Senate asked to probe OFW death

A nongovernment organization (NGO) has called on the Senate to investigate the alleged suicide of an overseas Filipino worker whose remains were brought back from Saudi Arabia a year later with an eye and her tongue missing.

The Blas F. Ople (BFO) Policy Center said it supported the call of Senator Manny Villar for the Senate to look into the death of domestic helper Romelyn Ibanez.

“According to Romelyn’s uncle, the family was surprised to learn when the body was being embalmed, that some of her internal organs were also missing,” said former Labor Undersecretary Susan Ople, BFO Policy Center president.

Ople said the Department of Foreign Affairs should seek an explanation from Saudi authorities on forensic findings declaring Romelyn’s death as a suicide.

Ibanez was found dead in September 2010 in her employer’s house in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

She died due to acid ingestion and multiple stab wounds. A bottle of sulfuric acid was found near her body. Philip C. Tubeza