A 38-year-old household service worker has finally returned to the Philippines on Thursday, August 14, after experiencing months of exhausting work conditions in Saudi Arabia. Eva Lastimosa Canama arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 aboard Oman Air flight WY843, where government and local officials, along with her family, personally welcomed her back.
Among those present to receive her were AGIMAT Partylist Representative Bryan Revilla, Antipolo City Mayor Jun-Andeng Ynares, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Assistant Secretary Ma. Regina Galias, and OWWA Welfare Officer Amelito Adel.
According to reports, Canama endured heavy workloads with barely four hours of rest daily and insufficient food while employed abroad. For over a month, she repeatedly raised her concerns with her recruitment agency in Dammam, but her complaints remained unaddressed. Matters worsened when her agency prohibited her from using her personal cellphone, forcing her to borrow another person’s phone just to inform her husband, Wel Canama, about her situation.
Before her repatriation, Canama received her full salary covering one month and 12 days of work, as well as her exit visa and plane ticket provided by her employer and recruitment agency.
As part of immediate assistance, both the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the DMW extended financial aid to Canama. Officials assured that they will continue to closely monitor and act on cases of abuse and unfair treatment involving overseas Filipino workers, vowing to remain steadfast in protecting the welfare of Filipinos working abroad.
