Lawmaker lauds Duterte admin for scalded OFW's repatriation

ACTS-OFW party-list Representative Aniceto "John" Bertiz III praised the Duterte administration for its "effective diplomacy" resulting in the homecoming on Friday of Pahima Alagasi, the domestic worker who was scalded by her employer in Saudi Arabia four years ago.

"We are truly grateful to President [Rodrigo Duterte] for his help in bringing Pahima home," Bertiz said in a statement during the arrival of Alagasi at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport  on a Philippine Airlines flight from Riyadh.

Alagasi was accompanied by Bertiz and Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto.

The OFW is scheduled for a courtesy call on President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday in Davao City, where she will also be reunited with her two children after leaving them for work in Saudi Arabia in March 2014.

"It is an honor that this representation was able to be of help in bringing Pahima's case to the attention of the President and it was very timely that the Saudi Prince visited our country," Bertiz said.

Duterte asked for the repatriation of Alagasi during Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif's visit to Malacañang on March 19.

Alagasi, a native of Pikit, North Cotabato, was only 22 years old and barely two months on the job when the mother of her employer allegedly poured boiling water on her back as she picked up the lid of a thermos bottle that had accidentally fallen on the floor.

She had suffered severe burns on her neck, back and thighs and had been left unattended for three hours before she was allowed to seek treatment.

While in the hospital, Alagasi escaped and sought refuge in a shelter being run by the Philippine embassy in Riyadh in May 2014.

She then filed a maltreatment complaint against her employer, but it was dismissed by the Saudi prosecutor. Her employer then slapped her with a slander case, using the photos of her scalded body that spread online as evidence.

Alagasi was forced to stay at the Bahay Kalinga shelter of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh for four years due to the protracted legal battle that her employer had waged against her.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif eventually intervened and gave his approval for Alagasi's repatriation. —Jamil Santos/LBG, GMA News