Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 7) – The Department of Labor and Employment has suspended the local recruitment agency that allegedly ignored the complaints of a Filipina worker sexually assaulted in Saudi Arabia.
SAMA International Recruitment Agency is also now under probe, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a briefing on Wednesday.
He added that the foreign employment agency, Home Comfort Recruitment Office/Home Comfort Manpower Services, is likewise being investigated. It is not allowed to hire Filipinos in the meantime.
In a statement on Tuesday, DOLE said the recently repatriated Filipina worker was allegedly raped by the owner of the foreign recruitment agency and molested by one of her employers in Riyadh.
Forensic tests done by the Philippine Public Attorney’s Office on the worker yielded results indicating sexual abuse and injuries. The Filipina is also now two months pregnant, Bello said.
He added that while the incident may not result in a criminal case being filed in a Philippine court “due to lack of jurisdiction”, he has ordered Labor Attache Fidel Macauyag to coordinate with Arab authorities for the filing of criminal cases against the suspects in Saudi Arabia.
Bello also directed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to build up an administrative case against SAMA.
