(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.
President Marcos, DMW, Saudi gov’t lauded
Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron P. Salo commended the DMW for facilitating the initial releases of unpaid wages and benefits to OFWs in Saudi Arabia.
“I wish to commend and thank OIC (Hans) USec. Cacdac, as well as the late DMW Secretary (Toots) Ople, for their dedication in resolving the labor claims of OFWs in Saudi Arabia through numerous bilateral talks and going through the meticulous process of collating every detail to ensure the rightful claim of each OFW,” Salo said in a statement on Wednesday.
Salo also thanked President Marcos for his unwavering support and committee to the welfare of OFWs worldwide, and to the Saudi Arabian government.
“His (Marcos) strong international and diplomatic relations with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman led to the swift resolution of the matter and the release of pending salaries, wages and end-of-service benefits,” he said.
Senator Raffy Tulfo also thanked the President for his dedication in ensuring the welfare of OFWs.
"As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, I am very happy because after almost nine years of waiting for our Saudi OFWs, they will get their insurance claims,” he said in a separate statement. (with reports from Zaldy De Layola/Leonel Abasola/PNA)
