Family of OFW allegedly drugged by employer in Kuwait cries for help

The family of Racel Diarisco Salome asked for help after they leaned that her employer allegedly drugged and abused her, according to a report on Unang Balita on Thursday by Mariz Umali.

Roque Diarisco, Salome's sibling, said his sister's inability to speak may have been due to her employer force-feeding her a substance that also resulted in extreme fear.

"Hindi siya nagsasalita. Parang natatakot siya," he said.

Salome was able to call and send money to her husband and three children a month after she was sent to Kuwait in October 2016 by Tiffany International Services Incorporated, but lost contact shortly thereafter.

Her family was able to ask her agency for help. The agency was able to find her in August 2017 but Salome's family was unable to speak to her by then.

A request by the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) to the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait revealed that it attempted to rescue Salome twice in 2017—on July 28 and November 8.

Embassy records showed that Salome refused to come with the authorities and handwrote a waiver stating she was fine and that she would come home in due time.

OWWA alerted the embassy to attend to the Diariscos' requests and try to rescue the Filipina again.

"Kahit wala nang pera padala, basta makauwi lang iyong anak namin, iyong anak ko," Lolita, Salome's mother, said.

Meanwhile, the family of Cerelyn Palabrica asked the government to rescue the Filipina since she supposedly was passed around and sold to different employers.

"Minamaltrato siya tapos humihingi siya ng tulong na kung pwede i-rescue doon siya sa employer na original niya. Baka planted-an daw 'yung mga bag niya, tapos lagyan ng mga pera o mga alahas. Tapos baka ipa-preso daw," Gregorio Artison, her uncle, said.

Both families traveled all the way to Sara, Iloilo, where a wake was being held for Joanna Demafelis.

Demafelis was the Filipina found inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait a year after she was beaten to death.

President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to visit the wake of Demafelis on Thursday. —Rie Takumi/KG, GMA News