They were detained by members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. By 9 p.m., they were turned over to the police station in Rawdah district.

“There were assurances that the Philippine Embassy would sign a kafala for us, but it never came,” said one of the two OFWs who works as an engineer in a local company in the capital.

“We had to depend on our respective employers for our release. By 3 a.m. on Saturday, the police gave us back our iqamas,” added the engineer, who is also a community leader.

He said that they were only released by Saturday afternoon, except for a doctor who was released later in the evening.

“The embassy's refusal to sign a kafala for us is not a good sign for OFWs. It means that we cannot depend on our embassy for total help and protection if needed,” he said.

Consul General Ezzedin H. Tago is the current charge d'affaires of the embassy. Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor wound up his stint in the Kingdom on Sept. 30.

Tago had previously told Arab News that two embassy officials had gone to the police station to assist the 12 OFWs.

“We are thankful to the two officials because they showed concern for us, except that they were helpless as far as the issuance of a kafala was concerned,” said the other OFW, an administrative officer at a local company.

Reliable sources said the embassy had probably been reluctant to issue the kafala due to a previous bad experience.

“Some time back, members of a group were arrested by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice for holding a meeting in Badiah. A kafala was signed for them by the embassy but when they were needed by the authorities, they did not show up,” he said.