Marawi siege survivor, 3 other OFWs receive livelihood assistance from Villar

Four overseas Filipino workers, including a survivor of the Marawi Siege who experienced maltreatment while working abroad received livelihood assistance from Sen. Cynthia Villar.

In a meeting with Villar at the Senate, the OFWs each received a start up kit for a sari-sari store and financial assistance under the senator's program for repatriated OFWs who were maltreated or victimized by illegal recruitment.

"With this assistance, we hope to be able to help our kababayan to start anew as they recover from the physical and emotional abuse their employers inflicted on them while working abroad," Villar said.

"Despite the many cases of maltreatment abroad, nakakalungkot na marami pa rin sa ating mga kababayan ang sumusugal na pumunta sa ibang bansa para lamang magkaroon ng pagkakakitaan," she added.

Among the recipients of Villar's livelihood assistance was a 27-year-old Marawi siege evacuee who came to Metro Manila and applied to work as a household service worker in Kuwait. Aside from suffering physical assault and a gun-pointing incident, the OFW was also raped by her employer.

Another recipient was a 31- year-old mother with two children from San Fernando, Pampanga. She was deployed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2019, where she was beaten by a hammer and raped by her employer's son.

Also receiving the assistance was a 31-year-old single mother of two from Libertad, Pasay. She worked as a household service worker in Dammam, Saudi Arabia where she was locked up in a room for 10 days and was not fed.

Also a recipient was a 38-year-old single mother from Biñan, Laguna. She experienced overwork and was only able to sleep 3 to 4 hours a day while working as a household service worker in Kuwait. She was sold by her employers to different families where she also suffered maltreatment.