Pinoys in KSA help distressed maid fly home to Manila

A Filipino community in Saudi Arabia banded together to help send home last May 22 a distressed Filipina maid suffering from various ailments, including one that needed surgery, a Saudi-based news site reported over the weekend. The Organization of Filipino Workers in Qassim (Sampiga) sought the help from employees at the Primary Health Care Center in Buraidah to raise 1,550 Saudi riyals (P17,611) for Gina Dinlausu, news site Arab News reported. Sampiga president Dionisio Tabuco Jr. said the maid’s brother-in-law — Onin Dinlausu — is a member of the Sampiga group. The Arab News report said Onin sought Tabuco’s help to persuade Gina’s employer to release her even if she had not completed her two-year contract. With advice from Philippine Vice Consul Roussel Reyes, Tabuco called Gina’s agency in Manila and requested for a one-way ticket and sought help of Cesar Chavez Jr. of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO). “Luckily, the employer agreed, but he provided the exit visa only," said Tabuco. The employer also took 500 Saudi riyals as compensation for recruiting her. Tabuco, a senior mechanical engineer at the Saudi Pharmaceutical, Industrial and Medical Appliances Corp., thanked embassy staff for their assistance. Tabuco lauded Reyes and Chavez who “played key roles so that Gina could go home." — JE, GMA News