Back wages assured for over 10,000 displaced Saudi OFWs --- James Relativo - Philstar.com

Released / Presidential Communications Office MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured more than 10,000 overseas Filipino workers left jobless by the 2015 economic crisis in the Middle East that they will be paid by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "soon." The president shared this with reporters at the sidelines of his attendance in the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "It's already in process," said Marcos in Filipino in a report shared by the Presidential Communications Office last Friday. "We are already coming to the point that we're already talking about the details. The list of claimants that have been cleaned, that's already taken care of. And we are just waiting for the details to be worked out between the Saudi side." The chief executive's statement came after being asked to provide updates on what the Philippine government is doing to ensure the settlement of said unpaid wages. The Department of Migrant Workers last January said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "asked more time" in paying for the said amount. President Marcos, however, emphasized that no other details may be disclosed at this time on the settlement issues. “But in concept, in principle, they will really push through with paying for insurance claims of workers in businesses that were affected by COVID. So, that will continue to go. We will finish this,” he said. "I cannot say because it also depends on the internal processes in Saudi Arabia. But, again, I know for a fact that they will be paid. It’s just a question of when." Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, in 2022 promised Marcos at the APEC Summit some 2 billion riyals for OFWs whose livelihood were affected when their construction firms went bankrupt.

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