RIYADH, 15 August 2003 — A Riyadh-based transportation company has asked the Philippine Embassy to investigate claims that two of the company’s Filipino drivers dismantled one of its vehicles in Jordan and sold it for scrap. But the Embassy says the drivers were stranded in Jordan after completing their mission in Lebanon because of bureaucratic wrangles.
According to the company, the two drivers went to Jordan recently with a truck-load of goods and removed various components of the truck which they allegedly sold before escaping to the Philippines.
The general manager said the company which employs some 100 Filipino drivers and technicians, dispatched a cargo to Amman in February. Once the cargo was in Jordan, the drivers cannibalized parts of the trailer-truck which they sold in the black market. The manager said their inquiries indicated that the parts were sold for between $5,000 and $7,000 compared to their market value of over $60,000.
These parts allegedly ended up in Iraq where there is a demand for such items. The manager said the company had sent an official to Amman where the chassis of the missing truck was found in a junkyard. The manager went on to say that this was not the first such incident involving Filipino truck drivers.
A Philippine Embassy spokesman in Riyadh, told Arab News that the goods were destined for export to Lebanon and when the truck drivers entered Jordan en route to Beirut, they were halted by security near the Lebanese border as a storm was raging on the other side.
The spokesman said that after waiting a few days, the drivers entered Lebanon and delivered the cargo of plastic goods to the consignee. Their troubles began during the return journey.
According to the spokesman, their exit/re-entry visa for Saudi Arabia had expired and they were denied entry into the Kingdom. “They were stranded in Amman for several weeks. During this time, they contacted the Philippine Embassy there which transmitted a message to the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. We contacted the transportation company and asked them to expedite the renewal of the exit/re-entry visas.”
The spokesman said it was not right for the transportation company to have assigned such a job to drivers whose visas were only valid for three weeks.
“The drivers had no means of financial support although they were helped by their embassy in Jordan,” he explained. He said he would place on record the fact that the company did try to get the drivers’ visas renewed but the Ministry of the Interior refused the request. “To be fair to the company, it must be mentioned that they paid for the air tickets of the employees who left for Manila on an Emirates flight on May 12,” he added.
