OFW doused with boiling water to pursue case vs Arab employer

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipina household service worker in Saudi Arabia will file a case against his employer in Saudi Arabia whose mother poured boiling water on her.

Labor Attache to Riyadh Rustico Dela Fuente said Philippine authorities there will help 23-year-old Pahima Alagasi Palacasi in pursuing the case.

"OFW Palacasi is determined to file a case against the employer. The Embassy and the POLO will assist her," Dela Fuente said in a report to Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Dela Fuenta also said that the POLO (Philippine Overseas Labor Office) has placed on documentary suspension Palacasi's Saudi recruitment agency (SRA), preventing it from recruiting more workers from the Philippines.

Palacasi hails from Malapaan in Pikit, Cotabato. Over the weekend, photos of her wounds went viral on social media.

According to Dela Fuente, Palacasi arrived in Riyadh last March and was deployed by the A-M Philippine Professional Services Corporation, a Philippine recruitment agency, to Al Motkasess Recruitment Office, the SRA.

Few days after she arrived at the house of her employer identified as Adil Akmad Badjuid, Palacasi complained of homesickness and constantly cried. She also claimed that she was constantly kicked and lashed by her male employer.

Palacasi was brought back to the SRA by her employer because of her homesickness. She did not report her alleged maltreatment to her SRA for fear of further complicating her situation.

When she came back from the SRA, Palacasi was transferred to the house of her employer’s mother because the wife refused to accept her.

On May 4, her employer's mother poured boiled water over her body due to a simple misunderstanding.

Palacasi was then taken to a hospital for treatment of the wounds she sustained.

On May 11, Palacasi escaped from the hospital and went to the house of her cousin.

Palacasi's cousin posted photos of her wounds on the social networking site Facebook on May 17.

The following day, Philippine authorities fetched Palacasi from her cousin's residence and brought her to the Shumaisy Hospital for medication.

After clearance from the hospital, Palacasi was provided counseling by the Social Welfare Attache from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and was taken to the Bahay Kalinga, where she is currently staying.

"She is stable, in high spirits, and is relating well with fellow OFWs at the Bahay Kalinga. She would be calling her relatives tomorrow,” Dela Fuente said in his report. -Louis Bacani