Batch of 49 undocumented OFWs in KSA flies back home from Riyadh


A batch of 49 Undocumented OFWs on Friday night flew back to the Philippines assisted by of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa said the OFW repatriates were expected to touch down Saturday morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on a Philippine Airlines flight.
Mustafa said all of them were household service workers who had problems with their employers, and had been accommodated at the POLO's Bahay Kalinga (half-way house).

Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa assists Manila-bound 49 OFWs inside Riyadh Airport as they prepare to depart for the Philippines. RONALDO CONCHA
Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa assists Manila-bound 49 OFWs inside Riyadh Airport as they prepare to depart for the Philippines. RONALDO CONCHA

According to Mustafa, the batch were part of distressed OFW group that benefited  from the fruits of the visit to Riyadh last August of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, and OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac.
"Tuloy tuloy po ang pagpapauwi natin sa ating mga kababayan sa abot ng aming makakaya," he added.
For now, the Bahay Kalinga is serving a total of 221 wards, Mustafa said, adding that the POLO hopes it can secure 50 exit visas next week.
OWWA shouldered the air tickets for 33 of the 49 Manila-bound OFWs and the airfare for the remaining 16 was paid for by their employers and foreign recruitment agencies. —Ronaldo Concha/LBG, GMA News

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