Nearly 40,000 illegal OFWs can still return to Saudi

By Mayen Jaymalin, The Philippine Star


MANILA, Philippines - The 38,939 undocumented Filipino workers who returned home from Saudi Arabia because of the kingdom’s crackdown on illegal migrants can now seek reemployment in the Middle East country.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said these undocumented Filipino workers “who left during the seven-month correction period can return to the kingdom if they wish to do so.”

Among the workers who left during the correction period were those who ended their employment contracts.
Those with derogatory records, however, can no longer return to Saudi Arabia even if they left during the correction period, Baldoz said.

Currently, 157,494 undocumented Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia have regularized their status and can continue working there.

According to Baldoz, undocumented workers who were unable to regularize their status during the grace period may still do so but they have to pay fines and other penalties.

She also said that the Philippine government will provide legal assistance to illegal Filipino migrants who are undergoing deportation procedures in the kingdom.

Until this time, Baldoz said the Philippine government has not received any report of undocumented Filipinos being arrested because of Saudi’s crackdown against illegal migrants.

She also expressed confidence that Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on illegal migrants would have minimal impact to the Philippines’ employment rate because many illegal Filipino migrants were able to regularize their status and thousands were also able to leave during the grace period.

“The Saudi government and the Philippines have good relations, so we are not expecting problems with the crackdown,” Baldoz added.

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