“Prince Sattam said the embassy could expect his assistance so that the nine Filipino women and their 10 children could be sent home to the Philippines,” Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor, who was winding up his tour of duty of the Kingdom, told Arab News on Thursday.

Prince Sattam and Villamor were supposed to meet earlier but this did not materialize because of the Ramadan holidays.

The women ran away from their sponsors to work in the black labor market. Aside from automatically becoming illegal residents of the Kingdom after running away, they started having illicit sexual relationships, for which they can be prosecuted because it is prohibited in the Kingdom.

For this reason, they would normally be in jail if they were not in the custody of the Philippine Embassy. Eight of the women have a child each and one has two.

Prince Sattam asked Villamor to return on Tuesday.  Since Villamor could not attend as he was scheduled to meet with Eastern Province Gov. Prince Muhammad bin Fahd regarding the case of housemaid Romilyn Eroy-Ibanez, who died from acid burns and stab wounds in Alkhobar recently, Labor Attache Albert Q. Valenciano went in his place.

Valenciano told Arab News on Thursday that the deputy governor’s office referred him to an officer regarding the embassy’s request for assistance for the women.

“The action officer asked for the documents for each of the nine women and their 10 children. We gave the pertinent documents as well as the summary report on them,” he said.

Valenciano added that he was also asked if any of the women had committed any crime and he said that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh (POLO-Riyadh) had not received any complaint against any of them.

“Then he asked me what we needed and I answered that we were requesting for an endorsement so that the nine women and 10 children be transferred to the deportation center,” he said, adding that he was also asked about the whereabouts of the fathers of the children.  He said he told the officer that they had returned to their respective countries.

Valenciano said if and when the embassy’s request is granted, the deportation center would issue them their travel documents so that they can leave the country.