3 of 7 abused OFWs back in Bacolod, eye raps vs recruiter

Three of the seven overseas Filipino workers who sought help for allegedly being maltreated in Saudi Arabia arrived Monday in their home city of Bacolod. A report posted on Visayan Daily Star said the other four are due home in Manila this week. Returning to Bacolod were Ronilo de la Torre, 32; Reynold Diosana, 34; and Manny Berueda. Their families paid their employer Saad Sahmi Al-Hajri and Partner Co. and facilitated their repatriation papers, exit visas, and release papers from the Jubail Court. Scheduled to arrive in the country this week are William Tan and Zaldy Cadeluna. But Simplecio Velasco and Oliver Alanza are still in Saudi Arabia and are waiting for their families to raise enough funds to pay their employer so they could leave. According to the report, De la Torre and Diosana said they are planning to file charges against their recruitment agency in Bacolod City, Pert/CPM Manpower Exponents Co. Inc., for breach of contract. The seven OFWs, who left for Saudi Arabia on Sept. 25, 2009, said they applied as drivers but were given different jobs upon reaching Dammam in Saudi Arabia. Also, their contract for two years was extended to three, and they were made to work for over 12 hours from Saturday to Thursday instead of eight hours as stipulated in their contract. De la Torre added in the report that their contract was for US$400 (about P18,500) but when they reached Saudi they were only paid 900 Riyal or about P10,800. They were also told that their accommodation and food would be free, but they were made to pay for them, he said. Meanwhile, Diosana, a former security and driver of the Philippine National Bank, said they were not treated well by their employer and were even ordered to steal sand and gravel if they ran out of materials for their project. He applied as a dump truck driver, but ended up as a trailer driver, he said. The OFWs wrote to Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. about their plight last May 17. In their letter, they said their drivers' licenses were confiscated, their salaries delayed and their overtime pay denied. Also, they complained they were not issued original Iqamas, or residence permits. Their recruitment agency requested that they be given until June 5 to provide the seven their plane tickets and exit visas. Diosana said they will ask the help of Jeff Esperanzate, head of the Sectoral Concerns Office, to file a labor case with the Department of Labor and Employment. Meanwhile, the plane tickets of Tan and Cadeluna were shouldered by Pert/CPM after they were made to sign quit claims, according to Diosana.—JMA/JV, GMANews.TV