Press Release
PR-051-2018
PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN RIYADH REPATRIATES OFW PAHIMA ALAGASI AFTER
LONG LEGAL BATTLE
OFW Pahima Alagasi (third from right) receives from Deputy Minister of Interior Dr. Nasser A. Al Daood (third from left) her unpaid salaries, after being informed that HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud Bin Naif, Saudi Minister of Interior, has facilitated her final exit from the Kingdom. Accompanying her are Ambassador Adnan V. Alonto (second from left), First Secretary and Consul Christopher Patrick T. Aro (left), Labor Attache Nasser S. Mustafa (second from right), and Case Officer Tomara M. Ayo (right)
(Riyadh, 12 April 2018) – Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Adnan V. Alonto, will be accompanying OFW Pahima P. Alagasi on her flight to return to the Philippines today, after she was stranded in the Kingdom for four years.
OFW Alagasi was deployed to the Kingdom in March 2014 as a Household Service Worker. In May 2014, the Philippine Embassy took custody of her and sheltered her in the Bahay Kalinga Female Shelter after she ran away from her employer over allegations of physical abuse.
After a long and protracted legal battle with her employers that lasted four years, OFW Alagasi was finally able to secure her final exit from the Kingdom, with the assistance of HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif, Saudi Minister of Interior.
Ambassador Alonto presented OFW Alagasi to Deputy Minister of Interior Dr. Nasser A. Al Daood on 08 April 2018, where they were officially informed by the latter that OFW Alagasi would now be able to return to the Philippines. Deputy Minster Al Daood also turned over to OFW Alagasi two months worth of her unpaid salaries from her employer.
Ambassador Alonto conveyed to the Deputy Minister the gratitude of the Philippine Government for the magnanimous assistance of HRH Prince Abdulaziz in the case of OFW Alagasi.
In a sworn statement, OFW Alagasi said that she is grateful that she will finally be able to return to the Philippines after waiting for the resolution of her case. She thanked HRH Prince Abdulaziz and the Government of Saudi Arabia for facilitating her exit from the Kingdom.
She also expressed her gratitude to Ambassador Alonto and all the officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy and Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh for helping in her case.
Finally, she said that she is happy and eager to finally see her children and the rest of her family in their home in Cotabato City.
For the duration of her case, the Philippine Embassy assisted OFW Alagasi by providing her with legal representation. When the legal proceedings began taking its toll on OFW Alagasi, the Embassy tried making representations with the Saudi Government, through its Foreign Ministry to allow her to exit the Kingdom. However, the ongoing legal proceedings did not allow for her to leave the Kingdom until her case was resolved.
The Embassy also assisted OFW Alagasi by providing her with medical and social assistance, as well as helping her keep in touch with her family in Cotabato City.
OFW Alagasi will be met by H.E. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte together with her family and relatives when she arrives in the Philippines. (END)
