2 OFWs Sexually Abused by Former Philippine Labor Official Assigned in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Surface, Determined to Press Charges

Two female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who claimed to have been sexually abused by a former Philippine labor official assigned in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia have surfaced. The women, currently in Jeddah, are determined to press charges against the labor official once they set foot back home.

"One of them has already met with our lawyers, while we expect the second complainant to come forward anytime this week. Though they are not victims of the sex-for-flight scheme, their experiences at these shelters are important to underscore the need for reforms," Susan Ople, head of the Blas Ople Policy Center (BOPC), a non-government organisation that assists distressed OFWs, said in a statement.

"We were able to convince them to file formal complaints against the labor official who allegedly exploited them," John Leonard Monterona, coordinator of the Middle East and North Africa units of Migrante International, a global alliance of organisations of OFWs and their families, told local newspaper The Manila Times.

Mr Monterona said the alleged labor official was different from Riyadh-based assistant labor attaché Antonio Villafuerte, who has been specifically pinpointed by three Filipina OFWs as the one who forced sex from them in exchange for a plane ticket back to the Philippines.

Read: Sex for Repatriation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 3 Filipinas Confirm Acts, Philippines Foreign Ministry Widens Probe

"This labor official served earlier than Villafuerte. He was in the post from the late quarter of 2011 to 2012," Mr Monterona pointed out. The identity of the official will continue to be withheld until such time the two OFWs are safely repatriated.

Earlier housed at the Bahay Kalinga or Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) in Riyadh, the two women went to the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah to seek protection from the labor official's alleged abuses.

"We are hoping that the two would be included in the 20 OFWs who are scheduled to arrive this week," Mr Monterona said.

Women To Run OFWs Welfare Centers

Meanwhile, the seat of the Philippine government has supported calls to deploy women officers in the country's different embassies, particularly in nations where there are OFW welfare centers. Worth noting are embassies in the Middle East.

"As far as welfare officers are concerned, Secretary [Rosalinda] Baldoz (of the Department of Labor and Employment) has said that women welfare officers will be given priority in postings in the Middle East," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a press briefing.

Read: Philippine Embassies in Jordan, Kuwait, Syria Alleged as Prostitution Dens for OFWs in Distress, Sex in Exchange for Repatriation