Two RP maids jump off buildings

Two RP maids jump off buildings

MANILA (AFP): Two Filipina maids are to be repatriated from Saudi Arabia after jumping from their employers' apartments to escape alleged maltreatment, the Philippine labor department said yesterday.

Elena Navarro, 21, suffered spinal injuries while Dany Alisa severely injured her lower back and broke her right leg, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Wilhelm Soriano said here. The incidents occurred separately in February.

Navarro and Alisa are to be repatriated shortly after recovering from their injuries at a Saudi hospital, Soriano told reporters. The two maids told the Philippines' labor attache in Jeddah that they jumped because they could no longer bear the alleged maltreatment.

About 4.2 million Filipinos work abroad, according to government figures.