By Roy Mabasa
The foreign affairs office on Monday appealed to Filipinos overseas to avoid posting unverified information on social media.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
The appeal came after a social media post involving a Filipina household service worker in Bahrain who was supposedly subjected to genital mutilation by her employer went viral but later turned out to be untrue.
“While we appreciate the concern extended by our kababayan abroad about this particular case, we should also be careful about posting something of this kind on social media without first checking its veracity,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The DFA lamented, in particular, the posting on social media of a video showing the visibly distraught Filipina.
However, Ambassador to Manama Alfonso Ver said the woman was already in the Philippines when the post went viral.
The foreign affairs office contacted the victim and was brought to the hospital for medical examination.
“Doctors said that upon examination, the victim had no indications whatsoever of genital mutilation,” Ver said in his report to the home office.
The envoy revealed that the medical examination of the victim revealed signs of physical abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He assured that the DFA will provide for the medical care of the victim who remains confined at an undisclosed hospital.
It was later learned that the victim was underpaid by her employer. Ver said the OFW only received BD90.00 instead of the agreed BD150.00.
Furthermore, Ver said the embassy has already contacted officials of Bahrain’s Labor Market Regulatory Authority who promised to cooperate in the investigation.
Ver said the embassy will undertake appropriate courses of action to address the other concerns of the victim.