JEDDAH, 22 July 2004 — A Filipino beautician has managed to flee from her allegedly abusive employer but failed to survive a heart attack even as she sought shelter at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah, Arab News has learned.
According to Welfare Officer Rosauro Octaviano, Amalia Ramos complained of severe chest pains late Friday night and she was immediately brought to King Fahd General Hospital where she died an hour later.
Octaviano said he was informed at around 11:30 p.m. of Ramos’ condition that prompted the consulate’s night shift staff to rush her to hospital.
Ramos, who was seeking assistance from the consulate, was said to have fled her employer in Riyadh for still unclear reasons.
A man named Danilo Bondoc, who claimed to be her husband, said the consulate had earlier sent his wife to King Fahd Hospital for checkup when she complained of ill health, but doctors found nothing wrong with her.
Ramos is registered as a documented Overseas Filipino Worker but her claims of having fled her employer is still being looked into, Arab News learned from the consulate.
Bondoc and Ramos reportedly traveled to Jeddah from Riyadh on June 21 after she fled her employer for still unclear reasons.
Bondoc claimed that upon reaching an unknown place in Jeddah, someone snatched Ramos’ bag and escaped with all their important papers.
When asked why they did not seek help instead at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Bondoc said they believed that the consulate in Jeddah was faster in acting on cases such as theirs.
Labor Attaché Nasser Munder, head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jeddah, said the couple came to seek help in getting repatriated.
“The trouble is it is very difficult for us to expedite their request simply because they don’t have any documents, such as iqamas and passports,” Munder said.
“Normally in any dispute like these, we call upon the respective employer for an amicable settlement prior to the worker’s being repatriated. In the case of Bondoc and his wife, they don’t have any documents at all,” he explained.
Consulate personnel said they were still checking with the embassy in Riyadh and with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in Manila about relevant information on Ramos.
Just like many other distressed male OFWs, Bondoc is residing at a the apartment of some “kabayan” who are kind enough to extend temporary shelter.
He complained that he had to be separated with his wife because the OWWA shelter at the consulate is for female runaways only. Under local laws, shelters for runaway workers are not allowed but the host government has relaxed the rule on females in view of the growing incidence of domestic helps fleeing from their employers.
Munder said his office has ong been requested their head office in Manila to provide funds to be used in renting villas for stranded couples.
He said the head office has yet to respond.
