DFA: Reports on abduction, rape of 4 Pinays are unverified

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday that reports on four Filipina nurses who were allegedly raped and abducted in Saudi Arabia, one of whom reportedly died, remain unverified. “The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh said today there are no verification yet of reports that four Filipina nurses were allegedly raped a few weeks ago," the DFA said in a release posted on its website. Earlier news quoted migrants’ group Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan (KGS) as saying they have received reports that a Filipina nurse working at Riyadh Al Kharj Military Hospital (RKH) in Riyadh were taken by unidentified men while she was on board a taxi on her way home. The nurse was allegedly found the following day in the desert in critical condition and with indication that she raped and heavily beaten. She died in the hospital two weeks after, KGS said. The group added that three other Filipina nurses from the National Guard Hospital, also in Riyadh, were abducted while the nurses were on their way from their home to a department store. KGS said the three were subsequently found in a secluded area in Riyadh with indications that they had been gang-raped. The Philippine Embassy, however, said they have checked with the two hospitals cited, which reported they have not heard of any cases of abduction and rape of their nurses. “Upon the Embassy's interview of hospital representatives and Filipina nurses working at the RKH and the King Abdulaziz Medical City-National Guard Affairs, it was found out that there were no cases of any Filipina nurses raped or killed there," the release stated. It added Philippine Charge d' Affaires (CDA) Ezzedin Tago immediately dispatched representatives to both hospitals to verify the news reports. At the National Guard, Embassy representatives likewise talked to the hospital's director for administrative affairs, who sought information on the issue from the hospital's investigation unit. "(The hospital director’s) colleague stated that there is no such case involving the nurses of the hospital. Embassy representatives also interviewed Filipina nurses working in the hospital, who said that the incident is just a rumor," Tago said. Filipina nurses at Al Kharj also said they were not aware of the gruesome incident that reportedly happened to one of their co-workers. Tago said that when a Filipino dies in Saudi Arabia, Kingdom’s law requires the sponsor of the victim to report the death to the Embassy. "The Embassy has reviewed its files, specifically the No Objection Certificates issued and the Reports of Death to see if indeed a Filipina working in a hospital died recently. The only case was that of a Filipina who died in June 2010 due to natural causes," he explained in the release. "Also, no one from the alleged victim, her relatives or her friends have come to the Embassy to report the case. For a case of rape to be filed with Saudi authorities, the offending party must come forward with a complaint. Up to this point, no one has filed a complaint or even a request for assistance with details that even remotely match these cases," he added. The DFA meanwhile vowed to continue checking on the alleged crimes even as reports have yet to be verified. “These are serious allegations of the commission of criminal acts against Philippine nationals, and are not to be taken lightly. It cautions that there had been similar stories in the past which turned out not be true," the department said.—JV, GMANews.TV