DFA exec: Unpaid salaries of OFWs will be tackled during Marcos' Saudi trip By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, GMA Integrated News

The settlement of unpaid salaries of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Saudi Arabia will be tackled during President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s official trip to Saudi Arabia this week, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Monday. “Actually, that is in the agenda,” DFA Office of ASEAN Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said at a Palace press briefing. Espiritu did not provide further details on the matter. “I can’t give the details yet because these things are still under discussion. But it will be part of the bilateral meeting between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines,” he said. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia committed in November last year to allocate some 2 billion riyals for the unpaid salaries of some 10,000 OFWs who were employed by construction firms that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016. The companies involved were the Saudi Oger, MMG, and the Bin Laden Group. The late Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople earlier said the Saudi Labor Secretary had given a commitment to resolve the issue and finally pay the wages owed to the OFWs. Meanwhile, Espiritu said the protection of migrant workers, as well as other labor issues, will also be discussed during the bilateral meeting of Manila and Riyadh. Recently, another OFW, identified as Marjorette Garcia, was killed in Saudi Arabia. Her remains were brought to the Philippines last week. Marcos will be in Saudi Arabia from October 19 to 20 to participate in the 2023 ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit. —KBK, GMA Integrated News

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