POEA: Slain helper entered Austria illegally

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipina housekeeper found dead at the residence of the Lebanese ambassador to Austria entered the country illegally, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration reported yesterday.

POEA deputy administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said Romalyn Basalo, 30, was processed as a household worker for Lebanon in 2006, prior to the deployment ban imposed by the Philippine government.

“Since then she has no more records in our database and since we have no labor office in Lebanon, she apparently transferred to Austria from Lebanon illegally,” he said.

Basolo’s body, which allegedly bore stab wounds, was found in the cellar of the Vienna house owned by Lebanese Ambassador Ishaya al-Khoury, who was out of the country at the time. The body was found by the ambassador’s cook, the only person in the residence.

It was reported that another Filipino, whose name has yet to be released, was arrested for the killing. – Mayen Jaymalin