Rhea and Flora are now staying temporarily at the shelter while waiting for the results of the case they filed against their employer. They are relieved that they are safe now at the shelter, however, both expressed apprehension after a Philippine embassy case officer allegedly tried to ask them to settle the case with their employer after they were taken to the Andalous Police station on Sept 21, 2015. “Our case officer Mr Mar Hassan took us to the police station. He told us just to settle the case with our employer in exchange of money and be deported so we can go home quickly. He was trying to convince us. Then came our employers at the police station. We were shocked. Sir Mar left us there in the police station. We felt so harassed. Then we were detained because our employers filed absconding case against us. Sir Mar said he can’t take us out coz we have absconding case but what about our case against our employers? We are the victims here,” lamented Rhea.
When asked by the Arab Times, embassy case officer Mar Hassan denied the allegations of the two HSWs regarding the case settlement. “That’s not true. They might have taken everything out of context. I took them to the police station because the CID has been calling me so they can identify their employers. This is one of the legal procedures. I left the room because I was asked by the investigator to leave. Then it turned out that they have an absconding case so the police detained them I tried to talk to the police on duty but they won’t let them out. I even told them not to sign any Arabic paper and not to settle. We will fight for justice,” explained Hassan.
He assured the two HSWs that he will not do anything to jeopardize their case. He added that their cases have been already filed before the prosecutor at the Farwaniya Investigation Department and docketed as numbers 830/2015; Aug 26, 2015 and 831/2015; Aug 26, 2015 respectively. He cited that he returned the next day with the embassy lawyer but they did not release the two HSWs. On the same day, Sept 22, Philippine Vice-Consul Shiena Tesorero together with Assistance to Nationals Unit Attache Ramon Nerida went to the police station to mediate. Tesorero talked to the police chief and presented the facts of the case of the two HSWs.
Eventually, they were allowed to go out of the jail and were taken back to the embassy shelter. “We want justice for what had happened to us. We will not go for any settlement and we hope that the embassy will help us in our fight,” stressed Rhea.
Meanwhile, Philippine Consul General Raul Dado told the Arab Times that on allegations that the employer connived with Embassy lawyers to settle the case, the Embassy reiterates the “ No Settlement” policy it has followed since the Embassy Legal Desk was established in 2013. “Apparently, there has been some misunderstanding between the wards and the case officers and this happens once in a while. But we assure that our ATNU is like a fighting unit with the wards, the NGOs and the media against these abuses. We are not bogging down. With that, we give the assurance with the cooperation of all the Filipino organizations and the Kuwait legal system. We have filed a case. We are not settling. We have been fighting for these cases and we will never give up,” stressed Dado.
By Michelle Fe Santiago Arab Times Staff
Via ArabtimesOnline
