Former OFW recounts alleged sexual abuse by fellow Pinoy in Saudi Arabia

Tags: Saudi Arabia

A former overseas Filipino worker in Saudi Arabia recounted during a Senate probe on Thursday how a fellow Filipino working as a driver in a labor office in the Kingdom allegedly abused her sexually.

During the Senate blue ribbon committee's inquiry on the alleged sex-for-flight scheme, Grace Victoria Sales narrated how a driver named "Kuya Jojo" employed by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Saudi Arabia sexually assaulted her in the halfway house in the area.

Sales said she escaped her employer in Saudi Arabia, only to be harassed by the driver in the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) or commonly known as "Bahay Kalinga."

"Akala ko parang kapatid ang turing niya sa amin. Noong tumatagal, sumosobra na. Pumapasok siya sa kwarto namin ng hindi kumakatok. Tinataon niya na kapag nagbibihis kami ng damit. Dinadaganan niya kami sa higaan," the former OFW said.

Sales said she left the halfway house for distressed OFWs after the incident. "Wala palang silbi na andoon ako sa loob [ng Bahay Kalinga] kasi doon pa pala ako mapapahamak," she said.

Sales later said she agreed to a settlement worth 10,000 Saudi riyals (over P110,000) with the driver after talking with staff members of Labor Attaché Adam Musa.

During the hearing, Foreign Affairs chief Albert del Rosario said there is a need to give further protection to OFWs in halfway houses. His department is partially in-charge of halfway houses for distressed OFWs. — LBG, GMA News

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