The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has suspended the recruitment agency of the domestic helper who died of acid burns and stab wounds in the Kingdom early this month. In a phone interview, Labor Attache David Des Dicang of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office-Eastern Region Operations (POLO-ERO) in Al-Khobar, said the DOLE has temporarily suspended the Manila-based PRA Solidworks Manpower Resources & Promotion. The agency deployed Romilyn Eroy-Iba?ez, a 22-year-old domestic helper in Al-Khobar who was found unconscious in the kitchen of her employer's residence and later died at the King Fahd Hospital on Sept. 8. Initial investigation showed that Iba?ez had stab wounds in her neck, abdomen and wrist, as well as acid burns in her mouth, arms and legs. Dicang said PRA was suspended for recruitment violations, after documents from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed that Iba?ez was recruited as a nursing aide in a polyclinic, but ended up working as a domestic helper instead. “She was only 22 years old. According to Philippine laws, domestic helpers employed overseas must be at least 23 years old,” Dicang told GMANews.TV. “The agency must have circumvented the law to be able to deploy her abroad,” he added. The DOLE will look into Iba?ez's papers to check if more cases of labor violations may be filed against PRA, Dicang said. He explained the suspension was based on the recommendation of the POLO-ERO. Meanwhile, Dicang said local authorities have yet to conclude their investigation on the death of Iba?ez, but promised to inform the Philippine post as soon as the autopsy and case report are completed. “Ambassador [Antonio] Villamor has already sent a letter to the Eastern Province governor (Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd) to request for his intervention to speed up the investigation,” said Dicang. The governor has not yet responded to the ambassador's request. Dicang said authorities refused to confirm if the suspects for the death of the maid were already arrested. The remains of Iba?ez, a native of North Cotabato province in Mindanao, can only be repatriated as soon as investigations are complete, Dicang said. “Once her remains are repatriated, her family will receive P200,000 as death benefit and P20,000 as burial assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration,” he added.
