staff reporter. SUPPLIED

Repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia have requested President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. for assistance in obtaining their backwages. Allen Del Rosario, a former computer programmer in Riyadh, is one of the thousands of OFWs who lost their employment in Riyadh and Jeddah in 2016, leaving them to fend for themselves on the streets. Former Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III persuaded them to return to the Philippines and wait for their backwages. "We were just asking NGOs and Filipino communities for their help so that we can eat. That's what happened, that's why we survived in the past three months." Del Rosario said in Filipino. "Since 2016, we were repatriated without even a peso in our pockets. The OWWA just fed us at the airport, then transported us home. Transportation was provided but until now, we are still waiting for the backwages," he added. Del Rosario hoped the Philippine government would remember them as it established relations with Saudi Arabia. He claims he has not gotten nearly P500,000 in backwages for almost six years. He added that they had also addressed a letter to the President and hoped the issue would be raised with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is scheduled to visit the Philippines before the end of the year. The Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated that this matter would be rectified. "We are of the impression that the Saudi will grant or eventually grant all that was being requested given the atmosphere in the negotiations... There was a mutual benefit for both parties so we see no reason why these things will not be addressed," OUMWA official Roy Ecraela said. The DMW previously stated that the Philippine government would lift its ban on Saudi deployment on November 7 following the conclusion of bilateral negotiations. The report said that among the conditions supposedly included in lifting the Saudi deployment ban is employers' payment of the backwages and end-of-service benefits of more than 1,000 OFWs repatriated in 2016 after their companies closed due to the economic crisis. These issues, including the abuses of employers, were among the reasons that former President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the deployment ban in Saudi. BKM/ Expat Media
For all the latest news from the UAE and the world, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube page