Back wages assured for over 10,000 displaced Saudi OFWs --- James Relativo - Philstar.com

Released / Presidential Communications Office MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured more than 10,000 overseas Filipino workers left jobless by the 2015 economic crisis in the Middle East that they will be paid by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "soon." The president shared this with reporters at the sidelines of his attendance in the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "It's already in process," said Marcos in Filipino in a report shared by the Presidential Communications Office last Friday. "We are already coming to the point that we're already talking about the details. The list of claimants that have been cleaned, that's already taken care of. And we are just waiting for the details to be worked out between the Saudi side." The chief executive's statement came after being asked to provide updates on what the Philippine government is doing to ensure the settlement of said unpaid wages. The Department of Migrant Workers last January said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "asked more time" in paying for the said amount. President Marcos, however, emphasized that no other details may be disclosed at this time on the settlement issues. “But in concept, in principle, they will really push through with paying for insurance claims of workers in businesses that were affected by COVID. So, that will continue to go. We will finish this,” he said. "I cannot say because it also depends on the internal processes in Saudi Arabia. But, again, I know for a fact that they will be paid. It’s just a question of when." Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, in 2022 promised Marcos at the APEC Summit some 2 billion riyals for OFWs whose livelihood were affected when their construction firms went bankrupt.

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