Filipina belies Saudi rape retraction -- Migrante

By Gloria Esguerra Melencio
Arab News through Inquirer.Net
Posted date: June 11, 2008

MANILA, Philippines -- The Filipino woman who reportedly withdrew a claim she was raped by four men in Saudi Arabia described the retraction as a sheet of paper, written in Arabic, that she had signed under duress to speed up her repatriation, a migrant group said.

Now back home in Quirino Province, the woman -- speaking to a local human rights group through her husband -- stands by her accusation that she was gang raped in the coastal region of Qatif on May 19 in the presence of her employer and that she was held against her will.

The overseas Filipino group Migrante International recently called for an inquiry into what happened to the Filipino domestic helper, known as Jessa, who, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), later said her accusations were product of her “imagination.”

Lian Santos, deputy secretary general of Migrante International, said in a press statement that the organization fears that there is a “cover up,” citing the husband’s claim that his wife signed “under duress” a paper written in Arabic.

“Our chapter in the Cordillera has interviewed the husband and the husband belied the DFA’s declaration concerning the retraction of his wife’s earlier statement that she was raped,” said the statement.

“Her wife was only told to sign a paper in Arabic, which she did not understand. Her wife was not even interviewed by embassy officials. The issue now is not the recanting by the victim of her allegation of rape, but rather whether or not the government is truly serving our kababayans (compatriots) in distress.”

Migrante’s chapter in the Middle East received a request from the Migrante chapter in Baguio-Benguet last May 21 in response to an appeal of Jessa’s relatives for the DFA to rescue the woman, who also claims that the rape was videotaped by one of the identified men.

After receiving the appeal from Migrante-Middle East, Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Antonio Villamor immediately dispatched a consular officer and an interpreter to Al-Qatief, some 700 kilometers from Riyadh, to investigate the case and assist the Filipina, soon after receiving instructions from the DFA.
Upon representations of the embassy officer, the Al-Qatief Police summoned the employer on May 26 to present the OFW and shed light on the case. The employer agreed to let the OFW leave and to shoulder the repatriation costs.
In a second note to Villamor dated May 28, Jessa reiterated her thanks for the embassy's facilitation of her repatriation. She informed the ambassador that her employer gave her additional 4,250 riyals to cover her travel expenses.
She arrived in Manila in the afternoon of May 28.
The DFA soon issued a press statement citing her statement dated May 26, 2008, in which she allegedly wrote that the allegations were fabricated and mere products of her "imagination."

But according to Flora Belinan, regional coordinator of Migrante-Cordillera, Jessa was not provided a translation of the document she had signed.

“She felt that her signature would mean immediate escape from her distressed situation. The embassy staff present during the signing did not even advise her on the contents of the document she was signing,” said Belinan.

“What is sickening is that, if all these allegations are true, the DFA would rather cover up the case rather than seek justice for a Filipino citizen.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo had lauded Villamor for “the swift and full attention and action accorded” the case.

But Santos said that this case illustrates a typical model used by the DFA when confronting abuse cases in Saudi Arabia.

“That the victim recanted the allegation of rape is symptomatic of the usual treatment of rape cases by Philippine government representatives in the Middle East,” said Santos. “That the Foreign Affairs Secretary lauds that action of his subordinate is symptomatic of the level of justice that can be attained by women victims under the present administration.” With a report from Philippine Daily Inquirer