MANILA (UCAN): A female domestic worker from the Philippines committed suicide in Lebanese capital of Beirut after running into financial difficulties caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, according to officials.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila said the woman, who had been staying at a shelter provided by the Philippine government, died after jumping from the building on May 23.
Reports say the woman, who was not named, was staying at the shelter due to “employment issues” triggered by the pandemic.
Lebanese families are reportedly not paying foreign domestic workers their agreed salaries due to economic problems brought about by Covid-19, the DFA said.
It is believed that the Lebanese family who employed the victim laid her off after running into financial problems themselves due to the economic downturn affecting the country. Half of Lebanon’s population now live below the poverty line, as the national debt has ballooned to US$86 billion ($66 billion) in recent months after the country imposed lockdowns in March (Sunday Examiner, May 17).
A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death has been launched, the DFA said.
Philippine foreign minister, Teodoro Locsin, reassured the woman’s family that her body would be brought home despite lockdown restrictions in both countries.
The incident is the second Covid-19-related suicide recorded by Philippine authorities.
On April 26, 42-year-old Algen Cadungog. a repatriated overseas worker, was found dead while undergoing a 14 day-quarantine in Manila having hung herself at a state lodging facility.
