KHOBAR: The lawyer hired by the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has requested a reinvestigation of the case of Filipina housemaid Romelyn Eroy Iba?ez who died on Sep. 8 at the King Fahd Teaching Hospital in Al-Khobar moments after she was brought by a Red Crescent ambulance to the hospital. Dr. Bader Bin Al-Busaies, the lawyer engaged by the Philippine Embassy, said he filed the request for the new probe to ensure justice has been done. “I filed for the reinvestigation of the case to the Office of the Governor in the Eastern Province, requesting that a thorough investigation surrounding the cause or causes of the death of the victim be conducted by a competent body. I have also requested for the official autopsy report from the hospital,” Al-Busaies told Saudi Gazette. Doctors who examined Iba?ez told Philippine Embassy officials, who rushed to the hospital after learning about the case, that she died from ingestion of acid, which destroyed her internal organs. She had acid burns on her face and neck. She also had stab wounds to her neck, abdomen and arms. An embassy labor official told Saudi Gazette that doctors who examined Iba?ez had informed him that “it was impossible for the victim to ingest acid and at the same time stab herself”. According to Al-Busaies, based on an initial police investigation, police reported that the main cause of death was the ingestion of acid which burned the victim's internal organs. The police also reported that the stab wounds were superficial and could not have caused the death of the housemaid. Al-Busaies said the police handling the case reported that Iba?ez committed suicide by ingesting acid, and closed the case. The employer of the victim was told to repatriate her remains back to the Philippines. “We want to ascertain the accuracy of the investigation, which is why we are asking for a fresh investigation and that a copy of the autopsy is furnished to the Philippine Embassy,” Al-Busaies stressed. Iba?ez, 22 years old, was from North Cotabato in Southern Philippines. Her papers to work in Saudi Arabia were processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on May 31, 2010, and she arrived in the Kingdom during the first week of June 2010. Her employment contract was that of a nursing aid, but she was actually employed as a housemaid upon arrival in Saudi Arabia. Under the law, a domestic helper or housemaid must be at least 23 years old to qualify for deployment. The recruitment agency in the Philippines which deployed Iba?ez has violated the age requirement, and has been suspended from doing business. Philippine Senate President Manuel Villar has already filed a resolution in the Philippine Senate urging concerned agencies to look into the case of Iba?ez and provide support to her family, who have already been informed of her tragic death.
