VP moves to save Bulakeña 'sex slave' in Saudi

Vice President Noli de Castro has instructed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to exert efforts to save a Filipino purportedly used as a sex slave by her Arab employer. De Castro, who is concurrently presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), said the woman identified only as Melissa hails from Bulacan province. “Ang ginawa ko, iniutos ko sa OWWA at DFA na hanapin ang files ng lahat na ang pangalan ay Melissa from Bulacan, kasi taga-Bulacan daw ‘yun, para mahanap ang exact location n’ya sa Middle East at nang makagawa tayo ng kaukulang hakbang," the Vice President told GMANews.TV in an interview. “Kung totoo na ginagawang sex slave si Melissa, hindi natin dapat hayaan na mapalampas ang mga ganito," he declared. Another Filipino who recently came home from the Middle East called attention to Melissa’s case. Leila Cabinon has shown a video of an actual rape scene by an Arab on a woman who looked like Melissa because the footage was blurred. Cabinon said Melissa has been abused by her employer and his son. When their friends visit them at home, the father and son also allow them to have sex with Melissa. The video showed an Arab man forcing himself on a defiant woman. The man even tied the woman’s hands after overpowering her. De Castro said he had seen the video recorded on Cabinon’s cellular phone. “I talked to Leila who has a copy of the video, but she’s not yet sure if the girl in the video was the Pinay DH named Melissa who she met on one occasion," the Vice President said. Cabinon said her employer and Melissa’s are friends. She said she got the video copy of the actual rape scene via blue tooth from another person’s phone. She did not identify the source of the video. Cabinon said she met Melissa on an occasion when her employer brought her to the house of Melissa’s employer in Al-Ahsa, some 700 kilometers or six hours drive by land from Riyadh. “So malayo ‘yung Al-Ahsa at hindi nga makasiguro si Leila kung si Melissa nga ang nasa video. Pero ang pag-describe ni Leila ay mataas at maputi si Melissa, kagaya ng appearance ng babae sa video," De Castro said. Militant group Migrante International expressed alarm over the new report about a Filipina being sexually abused by her employer in the Middle East. “Nakababahala ito dahil hindi ito ang unang pagkakataon na ang isang Pinay OFW ay ni-rape at kinunan pa ng video. Ang pagkuha ng video habang nire-rape ang biktima ay pagpapakita na tumataas ang uri ng pang-aabuso sa mga kababayan natin," said Garry Martinez, spokesman of Migrante. Martinez recalled receiving a report on a similar incident in March. “Noong March may ganitong kaso na rin kaming tinutukan na umabot sa korte pero unfortunately na-dismiss ang kaso dahil insufficient daw ang evidence," he said. The victim in the first case was known only as Jennylyn. She was repeatedly raped by her employer and his son, while the wife was the one who took a video of the sexual act between her husband and their Filipino domestic helper, and her son and the OFW. “Nilagyan pa ng sibuyas ang ari ni Jennylyn," Martinez said. “Pero humina ang kaso dahil ipinaraspa siya ng amo n’ya kaya nawala na ang mga ebidensiya nang magsampa siya ng kaso sa korte. Wala rin ang video dahil ang mga amo n’ya ang nagtabi kaya ang nangyari it was her word against her employers." Despite the sad experience, Martinez said Jennylyn decided to stay in the Middle East and looked for another employer as she tried to pick-up the pieces of her shattered life. Regarding the new incident of rape in video against a Pinay domestic helper, Martinez urged the government to use its diplomatic channels to the ME to locate and rescue the victim. “Huwag nang hintayin ng gobyerno na may mangyari pang masama dun sa tao. Iligtas na nila at kasuhan ang amo, tutal may kopya naman ng video si Leila. Ngayon dapat ipakita ng gobyerno na nagmamalasakit sila sa ating mga OFWs," Martinez emphasized. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV