RP post in Jeddah verifying if helper who jumped to death was Filipina

The Philippine post in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Monday said it is still confirming the nationality of the domestic helper who reportedly jumped to her death last week to escape her employer.

In a phone interview, welfare officer Nini Lanto of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah told GMANews.TV they have yet to verify if the domestic helper was a Filipina.

“As of Sunday, we have yet to confirm if she was a Filipina. But out Assistance to Nationals Section (ANS) is working on the case," Lanto said.

A report by the Saudi Gazette said the helper jumped from the window of her employer’s flat on the seventh floor of a building in Madina on August 31.

The report said based on information from witnesses, the woman used an umbrella as a parachute to escape, but the umbrella failed to open at the right moment and the domestic worker crashed on the pavement, killing her instantly.

Witnesses said the helper tossed out a bag containing her clothes before jumping.

Her employer said the building’s guard told him about the incident and said he found the umbrella hanging on the balcony. A knife used by the maid to open the tightly closed window was also found.

The worker was immediately buried in accordance with the request of her family, the report quoted the employer as saying.

Migrants’ rights group Migrante-Middle East earlier urged the Consulate to conduct an investigation to confirm the victim’s nationality.

“Concerned fellow [overseas Filipino workers] have called me, in separate calls, last week to tell us about the death of a domestic worker who reportedly jumped to her death from the window of her employer’s house," said Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona.

Monterona, however, said the concerned OFWs failed to identify the nationality and name of the victim.

Lanto was likewise unable to give the name and age of the victim.

“It is of particular interest and concern to us because aside from the need to establish the victim’s identity, (we need to know) what forced the worker to jump from the building," Monterona said.

He added Migrante case officers have previously attended to similar cases in the past, involving abused OFWs jumping from buildings to escape their employers. Some of the victims’ relatives have likewise complained of foul play.

For her part, Lanto said the domestic helper may not be a Filipina, even as the ANS continues to verify the helper’s identity. “Normally, the Consulate is immediately alerted by the local police if there is a Filipino involved in cases like this," she said. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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