Kin of Cebuana confined in Saudi seek Palace help

CEBU CITY — Relatives of a Cebuana overseas worker who has been hospitalized in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for more than two months are appealing for assistance from the national government.

The Cebu City government unanimously approved a resolution last May 26 requesting President Arroyo to intervene in the case of Marlou Singson, 33, a resident of Barangay Labangon, and repatriate her soon so she could undergo treatment here.

The only response Marlou’s family has so far received were letters from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) updating them about her situation.

Marlou’s husband, Rodrigo, said that if the government cannot facilitate her repatriation, it can instead allow him to go to Saudi Arabia to personally check on her.

OWWA has asked Rodrigo to sign a letter of consent for his wife’s operation.

Rodrigo, a carpenter, said he had to stop working because he is involved in his wife’s condition.

He said he even left their three-year-old daughter to his wife’s parents in Dalaguete town because he can no longer attend to her.

He said his wife was healthy when she left for Saudi Arabia last Feb. 14.

He said since Marlou left for Saudi Arabia, she was only able to call him on a few occasions. The last time was March 27 when she told him that her employer was very strict.

Marlou was supposed to receive a salary of $200 a month but has not been able to send even a single centavo to her family.

Her employer is also unknown. She was recruited by the Al Anwar International Manpower Services and was employed by the SNOOD Manpower Supply Office.

In a report, OWWA informed Marlou’s family that she was brought by her employer to the Philippine consulate in Saudi Arabia last May 3 because she was unable to speak or walk by herself.

She was then brought to the King Fahd’s Hospital but the doctors there allegedly could not find anything wrong with her and sent her back to the consulate.

When her conditions did not improve, she was brought back to the hospital and was given medicine. She was admitted to the hospital on May 11, the same day her family here was informed about what happened to her.

On June 8, the OWWA office in Jeddah reported that her condition worsened. She allegedly defecated and urinated anywhere and roamed the hospital, disturbing patients in other wards.

One of her attending doctors, Abdul-Aziz Zamzami, a neuro-consultant, said tests on Marlou indicated brain abscess which may have been caused by an infection. She may also be inflicted with brain tuberculosis, he said.

On June 17, another letter from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office said Marlou was losing her eyesight.

Rodrigo said he doubts the reports about his wife’s condition. One time, when his neighbor called a nurse friend who works in the same hospital, the nurse reportedly said she saw Marlou with a big bruise on her left cheek and that she "seemed to have been physically abused."

Rodrigo said there have been no clear findings on what really ails his wife. He said he fears that her condition might only get worse.

The Cebu City council earlier requested Marlou’s employment agency to act on her case but it has not received any response. — Freeman News Service