RP officials help overstaying OFWs avail of KSA amnesty

Philippine officials have started helping overstaying Filipinos in Saudi Arabia take advantage of a six-month amnesty period allowing overstaying foreigners to leave the kingdom without punishment.

Ambassador Antonio Villamor said he will meet with Interior Ministry officials in Saudi to clarify certain details so he can guide the concerned overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on how to avail of the amnesty.

"I have informed the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines about this development. We are indeed thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for this generous gesture," Villamor said in an article on Saudi-based news site Arab News.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah said it will issue an advisory about the amnesty to the concerned OFWs.

Labor Attache David Des Dicang of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the Eastern Region said the organization was “indeed happy beyond words over this good development."

“OFWs who ran away from their sponsors and whose visas have expired could now expect to go home without penalty," Dicang said.

“If their passports have expired, they will have to fill up forms, including travel documents," he added.

Runaway OFWs

The Arab News report said the Philippine Embassy could not give an accurate number of runaway OFWs in the kingdom.

It cited figures from militant group Migrante International indicating that some 3,000 runaway OFWs have sought its help.

However, there are many other undocumented OFWs, including maids who have run away from their sponsors and are now working for other employers.

There are also OFWs who have escaped from their sponsors without informing the embassy and are staying with other Filipinos.

Eligible for amnesty

The Saudi Interior Ministry said the amnesty would cover the following:

those who arrived in the Kingdom on Haj, Umrah visa

those whose visas that have expired, and

those who have violated Passport Department laws.

The Interior Ministry advised those eligible to report to the nearest Department for Foreigners’ Affairs (Wafideen) from September 25 this year to March 23, 2011.

The ministry advised all overstayers and other illegal residents to benefit from the pardon and leave the Kingdom before the grace period. V

The violators caught after the amnesty will receive harsh punishments, including jail time and a fine.

Assistance for foreign workers

Meanwhile, in Jeddah, the Saudi National Committee of Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS), a Kerala-based sociocultural organization, welcomed the amnesty.

In a statement, Syed Habibul Bukhari, the committee’s president, urged all illegal residents in the country to take advantage of the amnesty.

Bukhari said their group will help foreign workers meet the requirements needed in availing of the amnesty.

The organization will also hold awareness programs to help foreign workers understand the details about the amnesty, he added. –VVP, GMANews.TV

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