PHL repatriates distressed Pinay housemaid from Bahrain

A Filipino housemaid who escaped from her allegedly abusive employer in Bahrain has been repatriated, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday. The DFA said a royal family in Bahrain facilitated the repatriation of the 44-year-old housemaid, whose surname it listed as Tejano. "[The housemaid] sought shelter at the Embassy after being brutally attacked with a hammer by her female employer. She was promised work as a housemaid with a monthly salary of Bahraini Dinars (BD) 150 or P20,000 but ended up receiving only BD60 or P7,000," the DFA said on its website. Aside from the abuses she was subjected to, the Filipina had not been paid her salary for five months, the DFA said. It said officials from the Philippine Embassy secured the payment of her unpaid wages and the ticket for her repatriation. They also helped her in filing complaints against her employer for assault and unpaid wages before police authorities and labor officials. Also, the Embassy made representations with the Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) for the filing of legal action against the maid's visa sponsor for work visa irregularities, after learning her visa sponsor was not her actual employer. The DFA noted the Filipina's case was covered extensively by Bahrain's local media and Philippine media. On the other hand, the DFA said a member of Bahrain's royal family who learned about her case provided the Filipina and her family in the Philippines with financial and medical support. "Educational funds for her children were also promised by the said benefactor," the DFA said. - KBK, GMANews.TV