RP officials to bail out stranded Pinoys in Oman

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Embassy officials in Muscat, Oman met with some 1,000 Filipinos stranded at the Al-Buraimi border in Oman Tuesday in a bid to repatriate them.

Online news site Khaleej Times reported Wednesday that the 1,000 Filipinos were stranded at the Buraimi Hotel.

Philippine Consul General Lamberto Monsanto and labor attaché Romeo Yang in Muscat led the team, which conducted interviews and verifications on the statuses of the stranded Filipinos.

Aminah Marduen, coordinator of the Philippine embassy on the border, said the number of stranded Filipinos is much higher than those who had come out in the open.

But Marduen admitted the number was not accurate as many were hiding because of absence of visa or non-possession of their passports.

"Circumstances mentioned by stranded Filipinos vary in degree with the hotels asking them to deposit their passports at the time of checking in," she said.

Sylvia, 29, a nursery supervisor assistant in a school in Dubai, said the driver of the public relations company processing her papers came to the Al Buraimi border the other day to hand in the original employment visa to her.

But to her disappointment, the official at the Al Ain Immigration border checkpoint told her that the visa was not yet in the system.

"I was advised by the PR to stay in my hotel in Al Buraimi and to try again this afternoon. Employment visa is issued in one week at the most, or a maximum of two to three weeks," she said.

A newly-hired Filipino, Jocelyn, talked of being duped by her agent processing her papers.

"I was taken in just two days before the expiry of my visit visa. My employer told me to exit and get a new visit visa while the company was still filing for my employment pass. I engaged the services of someone, who claimed to be the business development officer of a company. After 16 days of being stranded here, I called him up to cancel it. I will ask another agent to do it for me," she said.

She said cash is very much needed at the border, claiming that stranded Filipinos are asked to pay Dh150 for one week extension of visa at the border, and Dh100 per day after it expires.

In her case, her visa in Oman was to end Sept. 24.

"If I don't get my visit visa from UAE by that time, it means I need so much money to extend my stay here at the border," she added.

While the Philippine embassy team is verifying the number of stranded Filipinos at the border, Philippine Ambassador to Oman Acmad Omar is meeting with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials in Muscat.

Yang said Omar will make proper recommendations to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila for a coordinated effort with the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to UAE Libran Cabactulan held a coordination meeting in the embassy in Abu Dhabi to prepare a coordinated effort to resolve the problem. - GMANews.TV

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