Duterte visits maid scalded by employer’s mother in Riyadh

Photos of 22-year old Fahima “Candies” Alagasi, who suffered second degree burns after her employer poured boiling water on her, went viral online after her cousin posted them on Facebook.

DAVAO CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday met with Fahima Alagasi, the Filipino domestic helper who was scalded by her employer’s mother in 2014 and had recently returned home here.

Duterte told Alagasi he was happy that she was finally home, according to Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go.

Alagasi, a native of Pikit, North Cotabato, was eventually allowed to leave Riyadh after the retaliatory cases filed against her were dismissed through the intercession of Saudi Prince and Interior Minister Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif following his meeting with Duterte in Malacañang in March.

She arrived in Manila from Riyadh on Friday.

During a press conference, she recounted her ordeal from the hands of her abusive employer.

Go said Duterte also pledged to Alagasi and her parents that the government would extend help to more OFWs in distress “in any way we can assist them, be it a legal matter or be it labor and employer-related.”

“Like we have always been saying, the gates of Malacañang are always open and the ears of government officials will always listen to whatever problems our fellow Filipinos are experiencing,” Go said in a statement.

Journalists were not allowed to cover the meeting with Alagasi and her parents at the Matina Enclaves here. /atm