PH gov't vows help for Pinoys amid Saudi crackdown

MANILA – The Philippine government has vowed to offer assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) affected by the “Saudization” in Saudi Arabia.

Ezzedin Tago, Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said more than 300 Filipinos are currently staying at safehouses in Riyadh and are awaiting repatriation.

Tago said the papers of those in shelters are being processed after they expressed interest in returning to the Philippines.
However, Tago said the repatriation may take time because most of them have incomplete documents.

“Those in the shelter are already those who want to go home. Yesterday was the last day where they could correct their status and all those who sought shelter are trying to get final exit. In the past 7 months, if you do not have the original residence permit, original passport, or fingerprint, they could not process you. Those who are left here and in Jeddah do not have those documents that’s why they cannot be easily processed,” he told ANC’s “The World Tonight” on Monday.

Undocumented workers in Saudi Arabia will now be arrested, fined, and deported after Saudi's Labor Ministry no longer extended the November 3 deadline following a 4-month grace period. But those in the safehouse will not be arrested since their papers are already being processed.

Those who are not in the shelter and are undocumented, meanwhile, were advised by Tago to contact the Philippine consulate immediately.

“Mas maganda na maaga silang mag-submit ng pangalan nila sa amin kaysa mag-antay at matakot,” he said.
Tago said the consulate has so far received about 80 requests to be accommodated in the shelter.

He noted that there is no crackdown in homes, and only commercial establishments across the kingdom are being searched for illegal aliens and their coddlers.

Philippine authorities said there are about 1,500 Filipino workers who have yet to fix their papers. So far, more than 4,000 Filipinos have already been repatriated from Saudi Arabia.

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