RIYADH/JEDDAH, 7 October 2004 — A missing Filipino domestic worker in the Kingdom was found, while another maid was rescued from a prostitution ring in Kuwait in the latest successful joint operations involving Philippine officials and community members.

Marites Caroro Edris, the domestic helper declared missing by her family, was finally located in Abha, according to Rafael T. David, chairman of the Filipino community in Yanbu (Filcoyan), who was actively involved in the search.

“The quest to locate the whereabouts of Marites is done and has come to a full circle,” David said in an e-mail to Jane Edris, the missing woman’s sister in Ohio in the United States.

David said he was informed by Vher Crisostomo, a community leader in Abha, of the whereabouts of Marites after receiving a letter certification from Adel Manpower Recruiting Agency.

The certification stated that Marites was working with a Dr. Awwad Al-Garni.

“She is ok without any complaint. You can check by contacting Ms. Anshah at Mobile No. 0507779132,” David wrote Jane Edris.

Arab News tried contacting the number but got no reply.

David said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jeddah “is still pursuing the communications with the Al-Garni family and hopefully contact with Marites will be established...”

Jane Edris said she and her family lost contact with Marites since her sister’s last letter a year ago to their mother in Panduma barangay of Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur, in Mindanao. Jane sought help from Filipino community organizations in Saudi Arabia in May after reportedly failing to get any reply from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate in Jeddah about her request for assistance in locating her sister.

David said, however, that the search for Marites was a joint effort by the embassy, consulate and community groups and members. He likened it to a “long distance relay run.”

“Ms. Perla S. Vega (of MOTHER) was the first runner who passed the baton to non-government organizations (NGOs) in the Kingdom last Aug. 8. Rashid (Fabricante) and I picked up the baton, made a tedious run to be able to pass the same to different agencies, the Philippine Embassy and Consulate in Jeddah. Ellene (Sana) of CMA had a good run with Capt. (Reynaldo) Jaylo, then Labor Attaché Manuel “Dodong” Roldan (in Riyadh) was hot on its trail based on coaching of Ambassador (Bahnarim A.) Guinomla, then the baton was received by Labor Attaché (Nasser) Munder (Jedda) with contact telephone numbers and passed the same to Vher Crisostomo, who ably made a blazing trail to reach the finishing line and break,” David said.

Rescue in Kuwait

David, Fabricante and others in the Kingdom also played an important role in the search and rescue of Amalia Asio, a runaway maid who was enslaved by a Kuwait multinational prostitution ring whose members allegedly included Filipino scums.

Asio, a native of Leyte Island in the central Philippines, sought help from her sister Elena Santiago in Jeddah, claiming that when she called the Philippine mission in Kuwait, the person who answered her told her instead to escape and proceed to the embassy.

Santiago said her sister could not possibly escape because they were under guard. Besides, she did not know where the embassy was. So Santiago sought help from Balitang Middle East (BME) and Arab News, who then both passed on the word to David and Fabricante, who then relayed the victim’s urgent plea for help to concerned authorities and Filcom groups in Kuwait.

It did not take long when embassy officials led by Ambassador Bayani Mangibin, acting on clues given by Asio, managed to find where she was being kept.

Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla in Riyadh and Consul General Pendosina Lomondot in Jeddah had been encouraging community groups and individuals to continue cooperating with the Philippine missions. They said that with the huge number of OFWs in the Kingdom, the embassy and consulate could not possibly solve all the problems all by themselves.