VP Binay: 600 undocumented Pinoys stranded in Saudi to be repatriated soon

Some 600 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded in Saudi Arabia may soon be coming home, with the Philippine government shouldering their transportation and other fees, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Friday.

 

In a post on his Facebook account, Binay said several issues hounding the workers had been resolved, adding that the exit visa requirement has been waived.

 

"The government will take care of their airfare as well as other immigration fees," said Binay, who is also presidential adviser on overseas Filipino worker concerns.

 

For the last several weeks, many Filipinos seeking repatriation had camped out in front of the Philippine diplomatic facilities.

 

Binay noted the delays in their repatriation were mostly due to the OFWs' lack of exit visas from their employers.

 

He said the remaining issues that have yet to be sorted out include how to bring home a large number of Filipinos.

 

"Ang problema na lang natin mapabalik, at may malaking grupo nga mga 600 ang dadating," he said.

 

Binay noted that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has yet to announce when the OFWs will be arriving.

 

"I am optimistic that the DFA under (Secretary Albert) del Rosario's direct guidance are working hard so that our kababayans can come home at the soonest possible time," he said.

Undocumented Pinoys

The DFA earlier said some 1,000 OFWs are camping outside the consulate, creating a Pinoy "Tent City," as they seek to be repatriated to the Philippines to avoid being arrested when the crackdown against illegal workers in Saudi resumes.

The crackdown operations started on March 28 this year because of the “Saudization” policy (nitaqat) or the policy encouraging the employment of Saudi nationals in private firms.

The migrant workers advocacy group Migrante-Middle East said undocumented Filipinos started camping outside the Philippine Consulate on April 11, or five days after the Saudi King announced a three-month reprieve on the crackdown against illegal workers.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on April 6 ordered a three-month delay to a crackdown on illegal migrant workers that has led to thousands of deportations.

The reprieve, which will end on July 4 this year, aims to give foreigners in the kingdom a chance to sort out their papers.
— RSJ/VVP, GMA News