25 OFWs who availed of Saudi amnesty get gov't assistance

The first batch of some 5,000 Filipinos who availed of the amnesty granted by Saudi Arabia to illegally staying foreigners in the Kingdom arrived on Tuesday and were immediately given government assistance.
After arriving in Manila, the 25 Filipino workers were given airport assistance, psycho-social counseling, stress debriefing, medical referral, and temporary shelter by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
The OWWA also arranged for their transportation to their respective provinces.
OWWA officer-in-charge Josefino I. Torres said the Philippine Embassy and Philippine Overseas Labor Office had processed the OFWs' documentation prior to their travel exit.
According to OWWA, returning OFWs will be given access to the Labor Department's Assist WELL (Welfare, Employment, Legal and Livelihood) Program, which would give them livelihood assistance, referral to local and overseas employment, training, and legal assistance.
OWWA members were also given a non-cash livelihood package worth P10,000 with starter kit under the Balik-Pinas! Balik-Hanapbuhay! Program of the National Reintegration Center for OFWs.
Non-OWWA members, meanwhile, were provided with non-cash livelihood training for undocumented OFWs and referred to the Balik-Pinas! Balik-Hanapbuhay! Program.
The 90-day amnesty that started on March 29 was offered by Saudi Arabia to all foreign workers there who are overstaying, escaped their employees, or with expired or unreleased iqamas.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said 67 more OFWs who availed of the amnesty are set to arrive on Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The 67 are set to arrive at 10:05 a.m. at NAIA Terminal 2 via Philippine Airlines flight no. 0655, according to the DFA. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vietnam condemns China's 'brutal behavior' in fisher attack ---- Agence France-Presse

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam's foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday China's "brutal behavior" during a violent attack on Vietnamese fishers in the disputed South China Sea. The 10 fishermen were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands -- an archipelago in the resource-rich waterway claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Vietnam "resolutely protests the brutal behavior of Chinese law enforcement forces against Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels operating in the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam", foreign ministry spokesperson Vietnam Pham Thu Hang said in a statement, using the Vietnamese term for the Paracel Islands. "The above actions of Chinese law enforcement forces seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty" over the archipelago, the statement said. Four of the Vietnamese crew were taken to hospital on Monday
Read more

Russia captures town after 2 years of Ukrainian resistance --- Reuters

Russian forces now control 98.5% of Luhansk, 60% of Donetsk MOSCOW: Russian troops on Wednesday took charge of the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a bastion that had resisted intense attacks since Russia launched its full-scale assault in 2022. The advance of Moscow's forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia's vast superiority in men and materiel as Ukraine pleads for more weapons from the Western allies that have been supporting it. Ukraine's eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the hilltop coal mining town to avoid encirclement by Russian troops and "preserve personnel and military equipment". The Russian defense ministry did not mention Vuhledar in its daily battlefield report. Russian Telegram channels, however, published video of troops waving the Russian tricolor flag over shattered buildings. The town, which had a population of over 14,000 before the war, has been devastated, with Soviet-era
Read more

Africa roads are world’s deadliest despite few cars ---- AFP

ADDIS ABABA: Africa has the fewest roads and cars of any region, and yet the largest ratio of vehicle deaths, caused by the usual suspects — unsafe habits, speeding and drinking — but also poor infrastructure, scant rescuers and old cars. As everywhere, speed, alcohol and not wearing a seat belt or helmet are among the main causes of death and injury, say experts. But in Africa, where there are 620 traffic deaths every day, these problems are compounded by bad roads, outdated vehicles, minimal prosecutions and a shortage of emergency services. A recent World Health Organization report found that Africa surpassed the rest of the world, including Southeast Asia — which recorded the most road deaths — with a record ratio of 19.5 people killed per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. Home to only around four percent of the world’s automobiles, Africa accounted for 19 percent of road deaths last year. “What is worrying is the upward trend in Africa,” said Jean Todt, a former head of the Internati
Read more