RIYADH, 12 June 2008 — Philippine Ambassador Antonio Villamor criticized yesterday the Filipino woman worker who said she withdrew her allegations of being imprisoned by her sponsor and gang-raped by four men.
“Jessa flew to Manila last week after the embassy’s intervention and now she is retracting her confession for the reasons best known to her,” said Villamor.
Villamor said that the Filipino domestic helper identified as Jessa was interviewed by embassy officials in Qatif and that she did not sign any confession that she made up charges against her employer and four men under duress.
Villamor said that he, on hearing about the alleged rape, immediately dispatched a consular officer and an interpreter to Qatif, some 600 kilometers from Riyadh, to investigate the case and assist the Filipina in distress.
An appeal to rescue Jessa was also made by Migrante-Middle East, a social welfare organization, which advocates for Overseas Filipino Workers.
But, the case of Jessa has now taken a new turn now after she retracted her confession of false charges on reaching Manila.
She has been quoted as saying in reports published in a section of Filipino press that she was forced by the Saudi police to sign a piece of paper in Arabic and she does not stand by that document being treated as confession.
Asked about his comment on this sensitive issue, when a number of human rights organizations and philanthropic organizations back home in the Philippines have raised an outcry, Villamor said: “The embassy stands by its report that upon representation by the embassy officer, the Qatif Police summoned the employer on May 26 to present the OFW and shed light on the case. The employer agreed to let the OFW leave and to shoulder the repatriation costs.”
Jessa herself, in a note to Villamor, has reiterated her thanks to the embassy for her repatriation.
She informed the ambassador that her employer gave her additional SR4,250 to cover her travel expenses. She left for Manila on May 28.
Now back home in Quirino Province, the woman — speaking to local human rights groups through her husband — stands by her accusation that she was gang raped in the coastal region of Qatif on May 19 in the presence of her employer.
“Ths kind of misleading attitudes of our workers like Jessa will harm our bilateral relations,” said Ambassador Villamor, adding that the Kingdom and the Philippine have had excellent ties in almost all sectors.
