Maltreated OFW returns from Kuwait

MANILA, Philippines - The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) announced on Tuesday night the arrival of a 23-year-old domestic helper who was reportedly maltreated by her employer in Kuwait.

OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon said Rahima Angkanan Panayaman, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from Cotabato City, will undergo stress debriefing and psycho-social counseling after being abused in the foreign country.

Panayaman arrived in Kuwait in March 2013 but she was sent back to her agency only after three days with her first employer, OWWA said.

OWWA added that she was sent to another employer after her local recruitment agency, Azzizza International Manpower Services, coordinated with its foreign counterpart in Kuwait.

However, barely three days working with a couple with six children, Panayaman was reportedly maltreated as her female employer poured hot water on her body, pulled her hair, kicked her, pounded her nails and hit her on the face for no reason. She said she was unable to escape because she was being locked up inside the house.

She said her employer decided to return her to her foreign recruitment agency, after which the Kuwait-based agency decided to file a case against her abusive employer.

The agency charged the employer in court and was put to jail. The employer offered a P2-million settlement which Panayaman accepted to help her family, OWWA said.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz instructed Dimzon to extend full assistance to the victim and ordered the blacklisting of the foreign employer to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. 

Baldoz also instructed the provision of scholarship and livelihood assistance under the Department of Labor and Employment's 'Balik-Pinay, Balik-Hanapbuhay' program.

Dimzon advised Panayaman to invest her money in education and business, while the OFW said she will use part of the money for the medical treatment of her sick parents.