RIYADH: Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello lll will visit Saudi Arabia again on Aug. 15 to take part in the negotiations on the repatriation of distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
The visit comes on the heels of a royal decree in which Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman ordered immediate attention to the problems faced by thousands of distressed OFWs in the Kingdom.
Asked to confirm the report, the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh said that Bello’s itinerary had not yet been received.
“However, a meeting with his Saudi counterpart is being arranged,” a source at the POLO told Arab News on Wednesday.
Bello visited the Kingdom last July 22 and 23 on instructions from President Rodrigo R. Duterte to help distressed OFWs who were not receiving their salaries at Saudi Oger and other companies, bringing with him SR40 million in immediate financial assistance.
His delegation included Guiling Mamondong, head of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and John Bertiz, Acts-OFW party-list congressman.
In an earlier report, Philippine Embassy Officer-in-Charge Iric C. Arribas said that measures had been discussed with representatives of the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
“We went to the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development last week. I was with Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad, POEA Administrator Hans Cacdac and Labor Attache Rustico S.M. Dela Fuente,” Arribas said.
Aside from repatriation, the Saudi government also vowed to assist the distressed OFWs by administering their transfer of employment to other companies in the country that offer job vacancies.
He added that the Saudi representatives informed the Philippine side that the royal decree mandated that “those with expired iqamas and the penalties incurred will be waived.”
“This will also help in facilitating the transfer of sponsorship,” he added.
The visit comes on the heels of a royal decree in which Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman ordered immediate attention to the problems faced by thousands of distressed OFWs in the Kingdom.
Asked to confirm the report, the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh said that Bello’s itinerary had not yet been received.
“However, a meeting with his Saudi counterpart is being arranged,” a source at the POLO told Arab News on Wednesday.
Bello visited the Kingdom last July 22 and 23 on instructions from President Rodrigo R. Duterte to help distressed OFWs who were not receiving their salaries at Saudi Oger and other companies, bringing with him SR40 million in immediate financial assistance.
His delegation included Guiling Mamondong, head of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and John Bertiz, Acts-OFW party-list congressman.
In an earlier report, Philippine Embassy Officer-in-Charge Iric C. Arribas said that measures had been discussed with representatives of the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
“We went to the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development last week. I was with Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad, POEA Administrator Hans Cacdac and Labor Attache Rustico S.M. Dela Fuente,” Arribas said.
Aside from repatriation, the Saudi government also vowed to assist the distressed OFWs by administering their transfer of employment to other companies in the country that offer job vacancies.
He added that the Saudi representatives informed the Philippine side that the royal decree mandated that “those with expired iqamas and the penalties incurred will be waived.”
“This will also help in facilitating the transfer of sponsorship,” he added.
