PBBM: P868-M worth of checks released for displaced OFWs from Saudi

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PCO file photo)

MANILA – About PHP868.74 million in indemnity checks have been released for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the bankruptcy of Saudi Arabian construction firms in 2015 and 2016, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced on Tuesday.

“Nais ko lang balitaan ang mga OFW na galing sa Saudi na patuloy na ang pagbayad ng insurance ng Saudi Arabia sa mga empleyado ng mga kumpanyang nabarangkote na nag-file ng claim sa insurance (I just want to inform OFWs from Saudi that Saudi Arabia will continue to pay insurance to employees of bankrupt companies who filed insurance claims),” Marcos said in a video message uploaded on his official Facebook page.

Marcos said the Overseas Filipino Bank and the Land Bank of the Philippines have already processed 1,104 Alimna Bank indemnity checks amounting to PHP868,740,544.

He added that 843 of the 1,104 checks have already been cleared and credited to displaced OFWs.

“Patuloy na ang pangako ng Crown Prince ng Saudi Arabia, ang pangako niya sa atin na ibabayad nila yung insurance claims. Kaya’t magandang balita ito para sa ating mga OFW sa Saudi (The promise of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia continues, his promise to us that they will pay the insurance claims. So, this is good news for our OFWs in Saudi),” Marcos said.

In October last year, Marcos announced that the Saudi government was processing the wage claims of more than 10,000 OFWs who were left jobless after Riyadh-based construction companies declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November 2022 pledged to set aside about 2 billion riyals for the displaced OFWs.

Nearly 13,000 OFWs were laid off when Saudi Oger Ltd., Mohammad Al Mojil Group, and other construction firms in Saudi Arabia went bankrupt, according to data from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

The DMW records showed 8,829 claimants from Saudi Oger and 3,454 from Mohammad Al Mojil.