Phl to help jailed Pinoys in Saudi as Nov. 3 deadline lapses

In his Facebook account, Binay said a staff from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Saudi Arabia will be deployed kingdom-wide to check jails, police stations, and detention centers to assist Filipinos who may have been detained.

 

This after Nov. 3 deadline for all foreign workers to legalize their stay in the kingdom has expired. 

 

"I was informed by Ambassador Ezzedin Tago that they have coordinated with POLO Riyadh and POLO Eastern and formed teams that will inspect jails, police stations, and deportation centers starting tomorrow to check if there are any Filipinos affected by the inspection campaign after the lapse of the extension, and to provide them travel documents if necessary," Binay said.

 

He said that foreign workers in Saudi Arabia who have started correcting their residency or work status in the kingdom before the lapse of the Nov. 3 deadline will be allowed to finish the process.

 

"We are grateful to the Saudi government for allowing this despite the lapse of the four-month extension they have generously given before," Binay added.

 

He also urged all overseas Filipino workers in the kingdom to finish the processing  of their travel or work documents.

 

Earlier, Binay, also the Presidential Adviser on OFW Concerns, previously wrote King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, appealing for another extension for foreign workers to correct their immigration or work status in the kingdom.

 

Meanwhile, Binay said some 1,400 OFWs in Saudi Arabia are still awaiting immigration clearance.

 

"According to Ambassador Tago, there are currently 1,433 OFWs awaiting immigration clearance: 441 at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and another 992 at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah,"  he said.

 

He said that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Jeddah Philippine Consulate have  processed a total of 4,530 repatriations and released travel documents to 10,760 OFWs.

 

Binay also assured OFWs still in Saudi Arabia that the Philippine government would extend all necessary assistance to them.