Comatose teen OFW dies in Saudi

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipina domestic worker in Saudi Arabia, who was earlier reported to be comatose, has died, the Migrante-Middle East said yesterday.

Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said the 17-year-old Filipina, identified only as Rina from Kabuntalan, Maguindanao, died at around 3 p.m. on Friday.

Monterona said Rina was very weak when she was turned over by her employer to the Saudi social welfare agency on Sept. 19. She was allegedly abused.

On Sept. 24, he said they were told that she could no longer walk and talk and had lapsed into a coma.

He said Rina’s cousin Henry, who is based in Riyadh, called them to confirm her death.

The group had campaigned to save Rina. The members and officers asked for blood donations from overseas Filipino workers and to provide for her needs for the removal of a blood clot in her brain.
“We were barred from entering the intensive care unit, where Rina was confined,” Monterona said.

He said they were told that the Philippine embassy and Philippine Overseas Labor Office-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA) instructed the hospital staff not to allow Migrante members and officers to get any information on Rina.

Monterona said the hospital was reportedly told to course Rina’s medical bulletin to POLO-OWWA. He said they thought Rina was on her way to recovery.

The Migrante official said Henry told them over the phone that the Philippine embassy and POLO-OWWA assured him that Rina showed signs of recovering from the coma.

He said the Philippine embassy and labor officials were informed about her condition.

Migrante urged them to arrange Rina’s confinement in the hospital, where she underwent MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) that showed a blood clot in her brain.

Monterona urged the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Labor and Employment to investigate and punish their officials who failed to help Rina.