18 OFWs held in Riyadh over 'mixed gathering'

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Eighteen overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), some of them runaway domestic helpers, have been arrested by religious police in Riyadh for being in a “mixed gathering," an advocacy group said Monday. Eric Jocson, chairperson of Migrante-Riyadh, said they were arrested Friday around 3 p.m. at an apartment at Badea district in the Saudi Arabian capital city. “Nagulat na lang kami nang biglang may kumatok sa kuwarto at nang aming pagbuksan ay bumulaga sa amin ang mga mutawwa (religious police) (We were surprised when somebody knocked on the door and when we opened it, there were mutawwa)," said Jocson. Among those arrested, he said, were Migrante officials and "distressed OFWs" who ran away from their employers. Under Saudi Arabia’s laws, men and women who are not married or related are not allowed to come together in private or public gatherings. Jocson said they were not supposed to be the target of the raid, but the people in the room next to where they were staying. He said they were arrested because a fellow Filipino in another apartment ratted on them to the police. "Sinabi sa amin ng ibang lahi na nandoroon ng mga sandaling iyun na kitang-kita nila ang isang Pilipino na itinuturo ang kanilang lugar sa isang grupo ng mga mutawwa bago naganap ang raid, napakasakit isipin kung totoo ngang kababayan din natin ang may gawa nito," he said. (We were told by other expatriates that they saw a Filipino pointing to our place to the mutawwa before the raid. It would be painful to find out if this were true.) John Leonard Monterona, Migrante Middle East coordinator, said the gathering was part of their rights and welfare assistance program wherein they give advice and assistance to distressed Filipino workers before endorsing their cases to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh. Jocson said he was freed on bail but added that they might still be sued for immorality or prostitution because they mixed unrelated men and women in the same room. "Wala naman kaming ginagawang masama hangad lang namin ay makatulong tapos kami pa ang mapapasama dawit pa ang kinabukasan at buhay ng aming pamilya na umaasa sa amin," he said. (We weren’t doing anything wrong, we just wanted to help but we ended up paying for it, and we might have even risked the future and life of our families who are counting on us.) He was, however, thankful to the Philippine Embassy for their immediate response to the matter. The migrant leader specifically cited Ambassador Antonio Villamor, Labor Attaché Resty dela Fuente, and Vice Consul Roussel Reyes for their assistance. In a statement released Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that embassy representatives have informed the investigating officer of the case that Migrante is a recognized non-government organization and that they might have been conducting a meeting when the apartment was raided. The case, said the DFA, has already been transmitted by the police to the Prosecutor’s Office for “further action." In alleged immorality cases, only the Saudi Prosecutor’s Office can recommend kafala, the sponsorship system where employers have control over their workers’ visas. But the DFA said that Foreign Affairs executive director for Migrant Workers Affairs Agnes Cervantes has already assured Migrante chairperson Garry Martinez that the department will continue to closely monitor the case and provide all possible legal assistance when necessary. At the same time, the embassy remind OFWs to be be mindful of the local customs, traditions, and laws of the countries where they are working to avoid trouble. - with Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV