DFA urges Pinoys to take advantage of extension of amnesty period to Nov. 3
Heeding appeals from the Philippine government and other labor-sending nations, Saudi Arabia has extended until November 3 its amnesty period for undocumented workers, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.
“Undocumented Filipinos are advised to take advantage of this extension and immediately proceed to the concerned Saudi government agencies or seek the assistance of our embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia for their repatriation or the regularization of their status,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told a press briefing.
Hernandez also advised Filipinos in Saudi to cooperate with the embassy and consulate “to make the repatriation and regularization procedures more efficient.”
The crackdown against illegal workers, which led to thousands of arrests and deportations, started on March 28 because of the “Saudization” policy, which encourages the employment of Saudi nationals in private firms.
Saudi King Abdullah first ordered a three-month delay to the arrests of illegal migrant workers last April 6.
A four-month extension was again approved by the Saudi King following appeals from the Philippines and other countries with undocumented workers in Saudi Arabia - home to more than 1 million Filipinos.
The previous crackdown forced hundreds of illegal Filipino workers to set up camps outside the premises of the country’s consulate in Jeddah and the embassy in Riyadh, hoping their presence near a diplomatic mission would give them protection and prevent their arrest.
“We are happy the King extended the grace period so that all those who want to be repatriated will be repatriated and those who would like their papers to be legalized can stay,” Hernandez said.
Grateful to Saudi government
Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay, the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino worker concerns, on Tuesday expressed his gratitude to the Saudi government for extending the amnesty period.
"I would like to especially thank King Abdullah for once again showing his kindness and compassion in allowing the extension," he said.
The extension came amid to requests by Saudi companies and employers, who had cited a backlog in the processing of documents.
While he said the Philippine government has yet to be officially informed of the extension, he said he is "grateful to the Saudi Ministry of Labor for extending the three-month amnesty period."
"Once again, I appeal to our kababayans to utilize this additional time given them to submit all the needed requirements to the Philippine Embassy," he said in a note on his Facebook account.
Binay also appealed to Filipinos in Saudi Arabia to use the extension granted by the Saudi Arabian government to submit the requirements for them to legalize their stay or leave the Kingdom without penalties.
"The Philippine Embassy has been working hard to facilitate the processing of the documents required by the Saudi authorities. The extension will allow us more time to process the documents to legalize the stay of our overseas Filipino workers or process the repatriation of those who wish to come home," he said. - VVP, GMA News
“Undocumented Filipinos are advised to take advantage of this extension and immediately proceed to the concerned Saudi government agencies or seek the assistance of our embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia for their repatriation or the regularization of their status,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told a press briefing.
Hernandez also advised Filipinos in Saudi to cooperate with the embassy and consulate “to make the repatriation and regularization procedures more efficient.”
The crackdown against illegal workers, which led to thousands of arrests and deportations, started on March 28 because of the “Saudization” policy, which encourages the employment of Saudi nationals in private firms.
Saudi King Abdullah first ordered a three-month delay to the arrests of illegal migrant workers last April 6.
A four-month extension was again approved by the Saudi King following appeals from the Philippines and other countries with undocumented workers in Saudi Arabia - home to more than 1 million Filipinos.
The previous crackdown forced hundreds of illegal Filipino workers to set up camps outside the premises of the country’s consulate in Jeddah and the embassy in Riyadh, hoping their presence near a diplomatic mission would give them protection and prevent their arrest.
“We are happy the King extended the grace period so that all those who want to be repatriated will be repatriated and those who would like their papers to be legalized can stay,” Hernandez said.
Grateful to Saudi government
Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay, the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino worker concerns, on Tuesday expressed his gratitude to the Saudi government for extending the amnesty period.
"I would like to especially thank King Abdullah for once again showing his kindness and compassion in allowing the extension," he said.
The extension came amid to requests by Saudi companies and employers, who had cited a backlog in the processing of documents.
While he said the Philippine government has yet to be officially informed of the extension, he said he is "grateful to the Saudi Ministry of Labor for extending the three-month amnesty period."
"Once again, I appeal to our kababayans to utilize this additional time given them to submit all the needed requirements to the Philippine Embassy," he said in a note on his Facebook account.
Binay also appealed to Filipinos in Saudi Arabia to use the extension granted by the Saudi Arabian government to submit the requirements for them to legalize their stay or leave the Kingdom without penalties.
"The Philippine Embassy has been working hard to facilitate the processing of the documents required by the Saudi authorities. The extension will allow us more time to process the documents to legalize the stay of our overseas Filipino workers or process the repatriation of those who wish to come home," he said. - VVP, GMA News
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