Maltreated OFW in Saudi returns home to Iloilo

An overseas Filipino worker who was allegedly maltreated by her employer in Saudi Arabia finally returned to her home in Barotac Nuevo town in Iloilo on Monday.

Grace Barretta was reunited with her family in Barangay San Lucas after spending more than a year abroad, GMA Iloilo's Enrico Surita Jr. reported.

Barretta left for Riyadh last year to help her parents make ends meet.

During her first five months there, she was treated well. But her ordeal began when she was sent to her employers' son in Jeddah.

In Jeddah, she said she was made to work almost 24/7, or from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m.,  even when she was ill.

She said there were even instances her employer hurt her. Also, her mobile phone was taken away from her so she could not contact her family back home.

Grace's plight became known via a viral video on social media, and arrangements were eventually made for her return to the Philippines.

She arrived in Iloilo on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration is investigating the allegations of maltreatment in Saudi Arabia. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

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