An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Riyadh, who faced health issues and alleged threats of being sold to another employer to recover agency fees, has been moved to her foreign recruitment agency’s (FRA) accommodations, Daily Tribune reported.
According to Department of Migrant Workers Undersecretary Felicitas Bay, Hazel Fernandez is now under the care of her FRA, following a report from Labor Attaché Antonio Mutuc in Riyadh. The update came on December 24.
Fernandez initially sought help through Daily Tribune’s Usapang OFW show, sharing her struggles with frequent numbness in her face and arms, severe headaches, and a swollen knee. These conditions worsened due to the physical demands of caring for her employer’s 90-year-old grandmother, even after Fernandez had been hospitalized.
RJC Global Manpower Provider Inc., Fernandez’s Philippine recruitment agency, stated that her employer was uncooperative in addressing her medical concerns. Fernandez also reported that her employer’s father became hostile after she sought assistance from the authorities, further complicating her situation.
While Fernandez is now in safer conditions, details of her repatriation to the Philippines have yet to be finalized.
