RIYADH: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo left the Kingdom on Thursday with 120 distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who had been camping out under the Kandara bridge in Jeddah. Another four flew out by commercial flight since they had already been booked, according to a reliable source.
Arroyo was one of the dignitaries attending the inauguration of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, about 80 km north of Jeddah, on Wednesday. She had earlier met OFWs in Alkhobar and Jeddah during her three-day visit.
Many of the stranded OFWs were runaways or overstayers who had either been abused by their employers or were not paid their salaries. Many of them came from Alkhobar and Riyadh but opted to travel to Jeddah where they thought it would be easier to leave and return home to the Philippines.
They camped out under the Kandara bridge and held rallies in front of the Philippine Consulate to seek relief and help so that they could return home.
On Thursday, Arroyo intervened on their behalf and brought them home. Of the 120 stranded OFWs who traveled on Arroyo’s flight, only 17 of them had passports. The rest — all of them women domestic helpers — were issued emergency travel documents.
Runaway workers often flee their jobs without their passports, which are typically held by the sponsors. This causes a problem when Saudi immigration officials have to try to identify these workers to ensure they aren’t fleeing criminal behavior. Foreign missions as well must then also verify identities and issue documents that can be used in lieu of passports upon arrival back home. The process has a considerable backlog, leading to stranded workers and their families.
Saudi-based KASAPI, a Filipino community organization, submitted a petition to Arroyo during a meeting at the Habitat Hotel Monday night seeking protection for newly arrived OFWs in the Kingdom. The proposal was handed over to Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque, who promised that he would act on it.
Arroyo and the distressed OFWs touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 4 p.m. Thursday, with the OFWs expressing thanks to the president.
The Kingdom was the last leg of Arroyo’s nine-day travel that also took her to Turkey at the invitation of Turkish President Abdullah Gul. She met Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu in Turkey and updated him on the Mindanao peace process. Her next stop was Britain, where she promoted the Philippines as an investment destination.
During the OIC’s 36th meeting of foreign ministers, which was held in the Syrian capital Damascus, Turkey led the group of countries which opposed the Philippines’ bid for observer status. Saudi Arabia, Iran and Yemen strongly supported Turkey’s position.
The Riyadh-based FEMAS, an association of 21 various Maranao associations, also backed Turkey’s position. Saleh Ampaso Bucay, FEMAS secretary-general, said the present and past Philippine administrations have “never represented Muslims in Mindanao, and will never represent them... Each administration has merely wanted to attract OIC members for economic purposes.”
Food hub
A Saudi firm is eyeing the Philippines as a “food hub” in the Far East, a move that could potentially bring in millions of dollars in trade packages and investments.
The proposed investment was discussed during a meeting between Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and representatives of the Far East Agriculture Company (FEAC), an umbrella group, on the sidelines of Arroyo’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
“The group will visit the Philippines in November to meet with possible counterparts and partners, even as initial ventures in fresh and processed banana products have been sealed,” Malacanang Palace said in a press statement.
The FEAC is involved in the production and trading of poultry, livestock, fruits, grains and cereals, the statement said.
