“We have submitted all necessary documents to the concerned authorities and we’re now waiting for the go-ahead for the repatriation of the nine women and their children,” Philippine Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor said.
The envoy was speaking after the Filipino advocacy group Migrante International called on the embassy to act on the cases of 10 Filipino women now staying at the Bahay Kalinga, the shelter for runaway maids based at the Philippines Embassy.
Villamor and Labor Attaché Alberto Valenciano said there are only nine women and 10 children and the embassy had been working on their repatriation. One of the women has two kids.
The ambassador, accompanied by Consul General Ezzedin H. Tago, recently met with Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif in Jeddah regarding various issues concerning Filipino workers in the Kingdom.
Villamor told Arab News that he was supposed to meet with Riyadh Vice Gov. Prince Sattam regarding the repatriation of the nine women and their children but this did not materialize because of Ramadan.
Earlier, a source told Arab News that the embassy was not releasing further details on the cases of the nine women, to avoid jeopardizing talks with Saudi authorities.
Villamor said women were complaining that they had been at the Bahay Kalinga for a long time but had not been sent home, while others who had been there for a short while had returned long ago.
“I had to explain to them that the cases of those who had been sent home were much simpler. They merely ran away from their sponsors and all the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh (POLO-Riyadh) had to do was to call their sponsors and ask them to issue an exit visa,” the envoy said.
He added that the cases of the nine women were “much more complicated.” After running away from their sponsors, which automatically made them illegal residents, they also committed the crime of having an illicit sexual relationship. This cannot be resolved by simply asking for exit visas from their original sponsors, he added.
The Saudi authorities’ help “is needed for them to be repatriated and this cannot be done overnight,” Villamor said.
