5 Pinoy workers rescued from Albanian employer

MANILA, Philippines - Five Filipino overseas workers (OFW) were rescued by the Philippine Embassy in Rome from their alleged abusive employer in Albania. The OFWs were deployed last December to work in a restaurant at a gas station in Patos City, the center of the oil industry in Albania, which is about about 250 kilometers south of Tirana, the country's capital. According to the embassy, the workers claimed that their employer abused them verbally, made them work day and night without day off, and restricted them from roaming outside their accommodation premises. The embassy acted on the plight of the OFWs after the father of one of the workers appealed for help from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. Philippe J. Lhuillier, Philippine Ambassador to Italy, Albania, and San Marino said that after verifying their plight, he sent Assistance-to-Nationals officer Antonio Villar and Labor Attaché Manuel Roldan to Albania to facilitate the workers' repatriation. The diplomatic office was able to secure the release of the workers after negotiating with the employer and finalizing an agreement at the Albanian Labor Ministry, the embassy said in a statement. The workers arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City last June 8 via Cathay Pacific flight no. CX907 at 9:55 a.m. - Veronica C. Silva, GMANews.TV