'Preaching OFWs' arrested in Saudi denounce RP embassy

Two of the 12 overseas Filipino workers arrested for taking part in a religious activity in Saudi Arabia criticized the Philippine embassy for refusing to sign the "kafala" or written guarantee for their release.

One of the OFWs, an engineer, said the embassy promised to sign the written guarantee for them but never did.

"We had to depend on our respective employers for our release. By 3 a.m. on Saturday, the police gave us back our iqamas," the OFW, who is also a local community leader, said in an article posted on Arab News Friday.

“There were assurances that the Philippine Embassy would sign a kafala for us, but it never came," he added.

Another OFW said that while they are thankful for the embassy's show of concern, they were "helpless" as far as the kafala was concerned.

“We are thankful to the two officials because they showed concern for us, except that they were helpless as far as the issuance of a kafala was concerned," said the second OFW, an administrative officer at a local company.

The Arab News report cited sources who said the Philippine embassy may have been reluctant to issue the kafala due to a previous bad experience.

“Some time back, members of a group were arrested by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice for holding a meeting in Badiah. A kafala was signed for them by the embassy but when they were needed by the authorities, they did not show up," Arab News quoted the source as saying.

Saudi authorities arrested the 12 OFWs for taking part in a Christian activity last weekend.

Conducting religious activities of faiths other than Islam is strictly prohibited in Saudi Arabia.

Members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice detained the OFWs then turned them over to the police station in Rawdah district.

The engineer said they were released on Saturday.

“The embassy's refusal to sign a kafala for us is not a good sign for OFWs. It means that we cannot depend on our embassy for total help and protection if needed," he said.

Consul General Ezzedin Tago is the current charge d'affaires of the embassy. Ambassador Antonio Villamor ended his stint in the Kingdom on September 30.

Tago earlier said two embassy officials had gone to the police station to assist the 12 OFWs. –VVP, GMANews.TV

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