Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 14) — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) expects to fully resolve the issues of unpaid wages of around 10,000 ex-Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia “within the year,” Secretary Susan Ople said on Friday.
\”Masasabi ko with full confidence na mareresolba ang issue ng unpaid claims ng around 10,000 OFWs dating back to 2015 to 2016 no’ng na-bankrupt ang kanilang mga kompanya, mareresolba ‘yan within the year,\” Ople said, stressing that details have been clearer on how the two nations will move forward on the issue.
[Translation: I can say with full confidence that the issue of unpaid claims of around 10,000 OFWs dating back to 2015 to 2016, when their companies went bankrupt, will be resolved within the year.]
‘3’: ‘contentWidth’: ‘fit-content’ ’embedCode’: ‘
Ople says she's still 'conservative' on the actual date of the distribution of claims: Kaya ko nasabing within the year kasi nararamdan namin na gusto rin nila (Saudi Arabia) matapos itong issue na ito.
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) April 14, 2023
[Translation: The list should be given to our counterparts after the Ramadan, maybe by the first week of May.]
When pressed further for an absolute deadline for claimants to send their emails, the DMW chief said: \"Ang absolute deadline namin ay May 1, madaling tandaan, Labor Day [Our absolute deadline is May 1, easy to remember, Labor Day].
In November last year, the government of Saudi Arabia committed to shoulder the unpaid salaries of displaced OFWs from construction companies that went bankrupt, following a bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ople, who was with Marcos at that time, said the Saudi government has set aside two billion riyals to settle the issue.
She also clarified that this is also aside from the ₱10,000 "humanitarian assistance" from the Philippine government, which the displaced workers can avail themselves of.
How to finalize the list?
Although a previous list has already been made — with some workers even submitting their applications to Saudi Arabia courts — the DMW released an official email address where the displaced OFWs could send their claims.
'14': 'contentWidth': 'fit-content' 'embedCode': '
Ople shows the email address where the claimants will send their information. She also shows the message template. pic.twitter.com/zHMNuBAIfw
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) April 14, 2023
She also assured claimants that officials would be monitoring the email so they can respond daily.
Ople said the DMW can send the list to the Saudi government by the last week of April if submissions received cover 90% of the expected number of displaced OFWs. The DMW disclosed it has nearly 5,000 validated claims in its database, with some 1,400 names still up for updating.
For 52-year-old Laurence Jimenez, who previously worked in Saudi Arabia as a cook, he would use his back pay to start a business in his province.
Asked for his reaction on the updates from the DMW, Jimenez told CNN Philippines: \"Sobrang tuwang tuwa ko po ngayon kasi ang tagal-tagal na. Hanggang ngayon, wala pa (ang claims since 2021).\"
[Translation: I'm so happy now because it has been long. Until now, my claim is still unpaid since 2021.]
May 24 meeting
Ople said her Saudi counterparts asked for a meeting on May 24 "to discuss the pending topics and build on the positive outcome" from the agency's last visit in March.
\"'Pag naaprubahan 'yong listahan ng (Saudi Arabia's) Ministry of Human Resources and Development, ang susunod na stage ng proseso ay pagbabayad,\" Olalia said. \"Gano'n lang po. Na-shortcut, na-simplify 'yong napakatagal na walong taon.\"
[Translation: If the list is approved by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Development, the next stage of the process will be the payment of claims. That's it, a shortcut which simplified the long eight years.]
The DMW said these are the \"significant processes\" in the \"final stage\" of the resolution of the issue of unpaid wages.
Details on the mode of payment and the timeline of distribution of claims would be the top concerns to be raised by the DMW chief, adding she would also consult the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President.
Olalia will be going to Saudi Arabia ahead of the Secretary to "thresh out any outstanding issues" and discuss "other equally important components for this special compassionate gesture from the Crown Prince."
\"Expectations ko by May 24, very specific items na lang 'yong pag-uusapan namin [My expectation is that by May 24, we will be only discussing very specific items],\" Ople said.
