Some stranded OFWs in Jeddah already sick

Consulate officials give medical attention to stranded Filipino workers who got sick while staying at a safe house in Jeddah before repatriation. - Ronaldo ConchaJEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - - Because of the hot weather and lack of supplies, many of the stranded Filipino workers staying at the Hajj terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have been falling sick.

“We have lots of the stranded here in the safe house who (are) suffering from high blood pressure, others have flu. Some of the stranded females here are pregnant. We have also some children and they need milk and pampers and our problem is we do not have any more resources to support or daily expenses," said Conrado Soriano, one of the leaders of the stranded Filipinos.

According to Anthony Basil, administration staff of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), most of the stranded OFWs are runaways from Riyadh and the Eastern Province.

But instead of seeking help from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh or the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Alkhobar, many of the workers opted to travel to Jeddah in hopes of being sent home for free by Saudi authorities.

Some of them even lived under the Khandara Overpass, along with other nationals such as Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis, who are also trying to attract the attention of Saudi police so that they would be deported to their countries.

They were transferred to the Hajj terminal after they camped out in front of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, demanding repatriation.

Upon hearing of their grievances, OWWA officials checked the condition of the workers, conducted treatment, and distributed medication.

“I’m happy that the Philippine Consulate is doing their best to accommodate us especially when they provided us shelter and food and they look after our sick colleagues here and provided us medicines," said Soriano.

OWWA welfare officer Romualdo Exmundo, a doctor by profession, said some of the stranded have flu and high blood pressure after examining them.

“The highest I checked (has) a 200 over 120 blood pressure...the poor lady did not know that her blood pressure is already high. She can have a stroke or a heart attack with her condition," he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday said they have already recommended the case of 170 stranded Filipino workers to the Saudi immigration. DFA undersecretary for migrant workers affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said they would soon be deported.

This group is already the second batch to be repatriated to Manila. An earlier batch consisting of 100 OFWs have already returned to the country.

The Filipino community in Saudi Arabia is estimated to have reached 1.2 million last year and the figure continues to increase. It is also still the top destination among overseas Filipino workers, data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed. - GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more