MANILA, 24 November 2002 — Saudi companies won a lion’s share of the First International Employers Awards (FIEA) given by the Department of Labor and Employment for outstanding foreign individuals and companies who hire Filipino workers.

Of the 55 prizes of land-based employers, 22 went to Saudi companies led by Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saudi Aramco and the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas also conferred the awards to 38 sea-based employers.

Some 400 foreign employers, most of them big names in industry in their home countries, came to Manila for the awarding night at the Peninsula Hotel on Thursday night.

On Friday, 15 of the land-based employers received the Presidential Awards of Distinction from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in a grand awards night at Malacañang.

“The conferment of the awards is our way of showing our foreign employers that we appreciate their good treatment of our Filipino workers, their provision and active participation in the social and economic programs that benefit them, and their support and aid to overseas Filipinos in times of emergencies and distress,” Arroyo said.

Sto. Tomas said: “This is a good start. We also have to recognize the people who take care of our own. There’s a lot more to the Philippines than they can imagine. It’s not as bad as some think.”

Also given the awards were companies from Bahrain, Korea, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saipan, Singapore, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and seven with operations in several countries.

Foreign Secretary Blas Ople also said the country “values highly the contribution of the world’s employers in elevating the Philippines as a world-class provider of human capital.”

Apart from Saudia, Aramco and KFSHRC, the other awardees from Saudi Arabia were:

• Abdulaziz and Mohammad A. Aljomaih company

• Al Suwaidi Group of Companies

• Al Yusr Townsend & Bottum Co. Ltd.

• Almarai Company Limited

• Arabian Industrial Fibers Company

• King Abdulaziz University Hospital

• King Khalid University Hospital

• King Saud University

• Ministry of Health

• National Guard Health Affairs

• King Abdulaziz Medical Cities

• Northwest Armed Forces Hospital Program

• Saline Water Conversion Corporation

• Saudi Arabian Oil Company

• Saudi Basic Industries Corporation

• Saudi Cable Company

• Saudi Electricity Company

• Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Company (Yanpet)

• Social Insurance Hospital.

Officials said the Middle East is still the top destination for Overseas Filipino Workers, although Britain is emerging as a choice employer.

Norway still topped the sea-based employers, with seven awards, followed by Japan and the United States with five each.