DOLE sends officials to Saudi Arabia following cross-border attacks

Philippine labor officials have sent a team to Najran in Saudi Arabia to brief overseas Filipino workers on what to do if the situation there deteriorates, following reported cross-border attacks in the area.

This was amid the Labor Department's report that one Filipino was injured in a recent attack.

Still, the Labor Department sought to assure families of OFWs in Najran that the situation there is now "normal and calm."

“I had sent Labor Attache Jainal Rasul and Welfare Officer Amelito Adel to the city to personally oversee efforts to make our OFWs understand the situation and inform them of what the government is doing and will do for them in case the situation deteriorates,” DOLE secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement.

Rasul reported the city is now calm after Yemeni rebels fired rockets and mortars at Najran in the last three days.

Baldoz said Rasul and Adel are in Najran with interpreter Bas Sua.

Najran is 900 kilometers south of Jeddah or a 12-hour travel by land, the DOLE said.

Rasul reported that another shelling attack hit a gas station in the Al Jurbah District, Najan City, near the Najran General Hospital.

It slightly injured one Filipino who was immediately rushed to the hospital.

“I visited him at the hospital. He had back abrasions, and was discharged later after being treated,” said Rasul.

Also, Baldoz said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Jeddah issued advisories to OFWs in Najran updating them of the situation.

It also advised them to remain calm, though Rasul reported some OFWs, including nurses working at government hospitals, have requested that they are allowed to move to a safer place.

Meetings

Rasul said he and Adel also visited the Maternity Children’s Hospital; Psychiatric Hospital, Al Hayat Medical Center and Najran General Hospital and met with their respective managements to get updates.

They also sought to allay the fears of their Filipino medical workers and nursing staff.

In his meetings with the OFW community,Rasul assured OFWs that the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah, especially the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, was closely monitoring the situation in Najran and was ready to reach out to employers of OFWs in implementing contingency measures, if necessary.

“I advised our OFWs to be vigilant and keep themselves informed and updated of the advisories from the Philippine Consulate,” Rasul said.

The DOLE said the Yemeni border attacks of Najran have compelled Saudi authorities to close its airport and suspend classes.

But all other activities, including government and business operations, remain normal. -Joel Locsin/NB/KBK, GMA News

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