Philippine Embassy holds first outreach mission in Hafr Al-Batin

The Philippine Embassy sent an Embassy on Wheels (EOW) team to render consular services to Filipinos working in Hafr Al- Batin on Thursday and Friday.
“We were happy to serve the Filipino community in Hafr Al-Batin and nearby areas. It was the first consular mission visit to the city in decades,” said Consul General Marshall Louis Alferez who headed the five-member team.
The team was able to process 139 e-passport applications, three passport extensions, one “lost passport” service, and four notarial and authentication services.
He said the embassy is aware that there are outlying cities in Saudi Arabia that have sizeable concentrations of Filipinos and “We hope to be able to visit them and provide them with much-needed consular services.”
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh (POLO-Riyadh) led by Labor Attaché Adam A. Musa and Welfare Officer Sam Madrid also joined the consular team. The labor team provided advice to Filipino workers and processed applications for Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC), a documented required at Philippine airports for vacationing OFWs when they return to their work abroad.
Located in the northeastern part of the Kingdom and some 480 km. from Riyadh, near the Iraqi and Kuwaiti borders, Hafr Al-Batin is home to some 1,000 Filipinos, who are mostly in the health, construction and building-maintenance industries.