PH files complaint vs Saudi employer for ‘neglect’ of OFW

The Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia has lodged a complaint against the employer of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Marcelo Tanyag III, who showed symptoms of COVID-19 but died on June 3 without receiving treatment.

Tanyag had posted a video on Facebook before he died, saying he was having difficulty breathing but was not allowed to go to the hospital by his employer.

“We want to hold his employer accountable for what happened to him,” said Philippine Ambassador Adnan Alonto, adding that he was meeting with the Ministry of Labor to discuss the matter because “if what we saw in the video were true, that constitutes employer neglect.”

Alonto said the embassy was arranging to repatriate Tanyag’s remains after complying with requirements on testing.

The country has also raised before Saudi health authorities complaints from some OFWs about “delayed response and nonadmittance” when seeking hospital treatment for probable COVID-19, the ambassador said.

Alonto said Saudi officials had assured him that Filipinos were not being discriminated against and were brought to hospital when their health condition worsens.There are about 1 million Filipinos in Saudi Arabia. So far, 134 Filipinos have died of COVID-19 in the Middle East/Africa region.