A 27-year-old Filipino household service worker (HSW) who had run away from her sponsor after being overworked expressed gratitude to Arab News for shedding light on her case, which she said prompted authorities to help her go back home.

Edibie C. Ruiz, from the Isabela Province north of Manila, left the Kingdom recently. Ruiz said the newspaper’s coverage of her case prompted Saudi and Filipino authorities expedite her departure.

“I may not be able to come back to work again in the Kingdom, but the kindness of many people, including the Saudi authorities, my employer and fellow Filipinos, will always be remembered,” she said.

Her employer did not only give her an exit visa, but also a one-way ticket to the Philippines. The local recruitment agency, Al-Basha Corporation, had also offered a plane ticket.

The sponsor, who was initially angry because he thought Ruiz had left the baby unsupervised, eventually relented. He saw her off at the airport in Dammam.

The principal and teachers at the school where a limousine driver had dropped Ruiz off after she had run away had taken her in. She said she spent the night at the school unharmed.

Ruiz also expressed her thanks to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO-ERO), headed by Labor Attache Alex Padaen.

“The POLO-ERO monitored my case after the Dhahran police picked me up to ensure that I was safe. I also thank the Filipino Islamic scholar who helped me while I was at the police station,” Ruiz said.