JEDDAH: There’s good news for stranded Filipinos in Saudi Arabia. The familiar scene of Filipinos waiting to be picked up by immigration officials below the Kandara district bridge may soon be a thing of the past as the Philippines decides whether to permanently provide shelter to its runaway workers.
Marianito Roque, secretary of the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment, said the Philippine government might continue the procedure of providing shelter to stranded Filipinos waiting for deportation.
“If that would lessen the burden of our distressed workers, then we might continue with the procedure,” said Roque, who was part of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s delegation, which recently visited Saudi Arabia. On Sept. 7 the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah provided shelter and food in the Haj seaport terminal to almost 200 stranded Filipinos who camped out in front of its premises.
This was made possible through the efforts of Consul General Ezzedin Tago who obtained permission from the Makkah Governorate and then entered into a contract with the King Abdulaziz Endowment for Al-Ain-Aziziah.
Through his efforts, Filipino overstayers and runaway workers were provided with decent, respectable and comfortable shelter at the Haj seaport terminal.
The stranded Filipinos were later brought by police to the deportation center and are now awaiting their departure for home.
During a news conference in Crowne Plaza Hotel, Press Secretary Serge Remonde said the Philippines could provide temporary shelter to stranded Filipinos. “The president has already asked the Department of Labor to step up its services to overseas Filipino workers. She is doing her best to help our workers,” he said.
Filipino community leaders welcomed the possibility of the Philippine government providing temporary shelter to distressed workers. Ador Tanedo, a community leader in Jubail, said the consulate’s action is a big help to the Filipinos in the Kingdom. “If they continue what they have started, it would lessen the burden of our stranded kabayan, especially those who are penniless and have no place to stay except the Kandara bridge.”
“It’s time our stranded compatriots are given a place to stay and they do not just sleep anywhere,” said Atoy Esguerra, a community leader in Jeddah.
As of Saturday there were about 200 Filipinos inside the deportation area waiting for their papers to be finalized before they could leave.
