A number of former illegal overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have expressed gratitude to the Kingdom for giving them a choice between deportation and looking for employers willing to transfer them under their sponsorship.

“The Kingdom was and is benevolent indeed. By continuing to work in the Kingdom I have been able to support my children’s education. My eldest daughter has graduated from college,” Joseph L. Posinar, 42, a father of three and currently working in a local firm, told Arab News on Sunday. He said that his daughter had graduated with a degree in tourism from the Systems Technology Institute (STI) in the Philippines while he was working in the Kingdom.

“I should also like to thank my current company for employing me willingly with the help of a compatriot who referred me to top management,” he said.

Posinar said that he had escaped from his former employer because he had reneged on his contract which stated that he would get SR1,200. But when he arrived in the Kingdom, he received only SR650 and was promised a SR150 food allowance which he claims was never given to him. He said that now he is earning a much higher salary than his previous employment.

Jovino Gedilangin, 35, hailing from Batangas province south of Manila, also expressed happiness at his good fortune of being able to find a new employer through the help of his friends.

“I now work for a company manufacturing office supplies in Riyadh and I am happy with my job as a machine operator,” he said. “My salary is much higher compared to what I was getting from my previous company in Al-Ahsa,” he added. He said that he had escaped from his former employer because the job was low-paid and the payment of salary delayed. “I was unable to collect salaries for two months and payments for overtime work amounting to SR10,000,” he said when asked for the reason for leaving his last employer.

He said that apart from driving, he is also working as a blast installer and doing other mechanical work in the new company.

Another former illegal OFW who’s working as a driver in a restaurant added that he’s much better off now than he was while working for a Saudi family.

“I now receive SR1,500 a month compared to SR1,200 that I was earning working for a Saudi family who maltreated me,” he said. He added: “I would like to thank Mr. Rabie of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh (POLO-Riyadh) for helping me with my passport.”