Female OFWs attack fellow Filipina in Saudi

Siblings Shaie and Claire were in tears when they reported to Inquirer Radio dzIQ that their sister Princess Ann was behind bars in Saudi Arabia. As the story is told, Princess had problems in her work place. She was reportedly locked inside the stock room and beaten black and blue by three Filipino women, along with another female janitor. Princess fought back, grabbed a scissor and stabbed one of her attackers.

Jealousy could have been the motive behind the attack, according to the sisters of Princess. But what Shaie and Claire found disturbing was that the stabbed victim was the only one who was rushed to the hospital. Princess was injured as well but instead of receiving treatment for her injuries, she was arrested and imprisoned. She is currently at the Malaz Jail.

Bantay OCW immediately reported the incident to Carmelita Dimzon, administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), who promised to look into the case. The sisters also went to the Office of Migrant Worker’s Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs and they were surprised to find out that Princess was not a janitor as claimed by her recruitment agency. Records showed that her job description was “worker loading and unloading female.”

Further inquiries showed that Arjoys Entertainment is not the agency that hired her but Al-Ahram International Group Services. Because of conflicting information, Princess’ recruitment agency has a lot of explaining to do.

Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said he look into the erring agency that recruited Princess.

Bantay OCW, on the other hand, is coordinating with the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia to check on the condition of Princess in prison.

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We received an e-mail from Arnold Mendoza, a seafarer, who has a problem reporting back to work.

He told us that when his ship docked, he took a two-month vacation in January 2013 and was supposed to report for work in March 2013. But when he went to the US Embassy to renew his visa on Feb. 19, he was given a green slip with a label “administrative case.”  For his failure to secure a US visa, Arnold did not aboard the ship. He, however, insisted that he was not involved in any wrongdoing nor is he facing any administrative case.

A search in the Internet solved the puzzle. Arnold found out that he shared the same name with someone who is facing an administrative case in another country. Is this the reason why his visa was not renewed?

Arnold is under the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line of the Philippine Transmarine Carriers (PTC). According to Capt. Ronaldo Enrile, PTC’s vice president for operations, Arnold should file an appeal with the US Embassy and attach documents to prove that he is not the same person who is facing the administrative case.

PTC submitted Arnold’s contract of employment to the US Embassy as a supporting document for the visa renewal. Enrile clarified that visas are issued for the crew members and not for the shipping company.

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Susan Andes, also known as Susan K., can be heard over Inquirer Radio dzIQ 990 AM, Monday to Friday, 10:30 a.m.to 12:00 noon. Audio/video live streaming is at www.dziq.am. Watch her on PTV 4 every Tuesday,  8 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Helplines: 0927-6499870/ 0920-9684700

E-mail: [email protected]/ [email protected]