PH gov't vows help for Pinoys amid Saudi crackdown

MANILA – The Philippine government has vowed to offer assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) affected by the “Saudization” in Saudi Arabia.

Ezzedin Tago, Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said more than 300 Filipinos are currently staying at safehouses in Riyadh and are awaiting repatriation.

Tago said the papers of those in shelters are being processed after they expressed interest in returning to the Philippines.
However, Tago said the repatriation may take time because most of them have incomplete documents.

“Those in the shelter are already those who want to go home. Yesterday was the last day where they could correct their status and all those who sought shelter are trying to get final exit. In the past 7 months, if you do not have the original residence permit, original passport, or fingerprint, they could not process you. Those who are left here and in Jeddah do not have those documents that’s why they cannot be easily processed,” he told ANC’s “The World Tonight” on Monday.

Undocumented workers in Saudi Arabia will now be arrested, fined, and deported after Saudi's Labor Ministry no longer extended the November 3 deadline following a 4-month grace period. But those in the safehouse will not be arrested since their papers are already being processed.

Those who are not in the shelter and are undocumented, meanwhile, were advised by Tago to contact the Philippine consulate immediately.

“Mas maganda na maaga silang mag-submit ng pangalan nila sa amin kaysa mag-antay at matakot,” he said.
Tago said the consulate has so far received about 80 requests to be accommodated in the shelter.

He noted that there is no crackdown in homes, and only commercial establishments across the kingdom are being searched for illegal aliens and their coddlers.

Philippine authorities said there are about 1,500 Filipino workers who have yet to fix their papers. So far, more than 4,000 Filipinos have already been repatriated from Saudi Arabia.

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