Runaway Saudi OFW cries for help

An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) has sought assistance through DAILY TRIBUNE’s digital show Usapang OFW after her employer allegedly confiscated her passport on 21 November.

Ramcita Ermac Egalan arrived in Najran, Saudi Arabia in August of last year but stopped working due to health issues that required her to be hospitalized three times. She also said she was abused by her employer.

Egalan said she was forced to cover the costs of her hospital bills.

“At my employer’s mother’s house, I didn’t have my own room. I slept outside, getting only four or five hours of sleep, sometimes even less. When the children woke up and went outside to play, I couldn’t rest,” she said.

The OFW said that on 17 August this year, she informed her employer that she could no longer work due to her condition and requested to return to the Philippines. Her employer, however, refused and denied her a one-week leave.

Egalan also recounted an alarming incident where her employer’s child pointed a gun at her and threatened to shoot her if she didn’t continue working.

After this, Egalan was taken to her foreign recruitment agency. However, two days later, she recounted that her employer returned, and the agency reportedly told her that they were no longer responsible for her, insisting she continue working.

No exit visa

The agency also said they had done all they could, but could not secure her exit visa because her employer demanded SAR 25,000 (approximately P393,000) as payment.

Egalan said her Philippine recruitment agency, SAF International Services, assured her family that she would be sent home within two to three weeks. However, this promise remains unfulfilled.

“I’ve already been here for three months. They said the agency here wasn’t providing updates to them,” she said.