“Due to partial paralysis, including in his left eye, Faustino Sande cannot move, but he can be discharged from the hospital anytime to go home to the Philippines where he will continue his treatment and medication,” Dionisio B. Tabuco Jr., president of the Organization of Filipino Workers in Qassim (Samahan ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino sa Gassim), said in an e-mail to Welfare Officer Cesar L. Chavez of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the Central Region (POLO-CRO).
Sande, who comes from Quezon City, was rushed to King Saud Hospital in Onaizah on Dec. 15 where he underwent surgery on Dec. 23. He has three children with his wife, who works as a nurse back home.
Sande had been working as a company nurse at the Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corporation (SPIMACO) in Buraidah for four years when he suffered the stroke.
“His skull was opened to remove a blood clot in his brain. Due to his condition, the company decided to terminate his contract on medical grounds and promised that he would receive all benefits due to him,” Tabuco told Arab News.
Contacted by Arab News on Thursday, Chavez, who was leaving Riyadh for a conference in Manila, said “all routes should be exhausted” before the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration makes a move.
“The employer should provide an escort. It will also shoulder the costs of the plane ticket. However, if it cannot, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in Manila will ask the agency who deployed Sande to provide an escort. It should also pay for the ticket. If it does not agree, it will be suspended,” Chavez told Arab News.
He added that as a last resort, the POLO-CRO would ask one of its staff to escort Sande and pay for his ticket.
