Government to send 5,000 illegal workers in Saudi back home

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (shutterstock)

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to implement its 90-day amnesty towards illegal immigrants this week. There are around 5,000 undocumented overseas FIlipino workers (OFWs) that are expected to be repatriated.

Officials from the Department of Labor and Employment had been sent to facilitate and make the arrangements in order for the OFWs to avail themselves of the three-month amnesty program.

The team is led by Labor Undersecretary Dominador Say with the participation of Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) Hans Cacdac, OWWA Deputy Administrator Brigido Dulay, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Mary Sol dela Cruz, OWWA representative Cesar Chavez Jr. and POEA representative Patricia Jacobo.

Processing centers will be set up in Riyadh, Al Khobar and Jeddah.

The team will also address other problems being encountered by Filipino workers in the area, particularly the money claims that were filed by OFWs who were laid off from companies such as the Saudi Oger Ltd., Saudi Bin Laden Group, MMG and other cases in the same fashion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia in April to discuss bilateral agreements and terms with the King, and other concerns possibly in relation to overseas Filipino workers deployed in the area.
Saudi Arabia remains  the top OFW destination in the world with a wide range of demands of various services such as household, medicine,engineering and construction.