OVERSEAS Filipino Workers (OFWs) displaced after Saudi Arabian construction companies went bankrupt in 2015 and 2016 have finally started receiving back wages and other benefits, President Marcos Jr. said yesterday.
“Nais ko lang balitaan ang ating mga OFW na galing sa Saudi na patuloy na ang pagbayad ng insurance ng Saudi Arabia sa mga empleyado ng mga kumpanyang nabangkarote na nag-file ng claim sa insurance. Naka-process na ang Overseas Filipino Bank at Land Bank ng 1,104 Alinma Bank indemnity check (I want to inform our OFWs from Saudi that Saudi Arabia continues to pay the insurance claims of employees of the companies which filed bankruptcy claims. The Overseas Filipino Bank and Land Bank have already processed 1,104 Alinma Bank indemnity checks),” the President said in a video message.
Marcos said the 1,014 indemnity checks have been cleared and 843 of these, amounting to P868.74 million, have been credited and paid.
He said the payouts were a realization of the promise made personally by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin to him during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2022.
“Patuloy nga 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 remains— he promised us that they will pay the insurance claims. This is good news to our OFWs from Saudi),” Marcos added.
The Crown Prince committed that some 2 billion riyals will be paid to 10,544 OFWs who were affected by the bankruptcies of Saudi construction firms nine years ago.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is expecting some 700 more checks to be cleared within this month. — With Gerard Naval
