Saudi prince ‘gifts’ 10K displaced OFWs
THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has committed to shoulder the wage claims of around 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were displaced from its construction companies that went bankrupt.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced this piece of “good news” following a bilateral meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
Marcos welcomed this development and thanked Prince Mohammed for his “gift” to the displaced OFWs.
“Napakagandang balita talaga. At pinaghandaan talaga tayo ni Crown Prince.
Kaya’t sabi niya ‘yung desisyon na ‘yan ay nangyari lamang noong nakaraang ilang araw at dahil nga magkikita kami at sabi niya ito ‘yung regalo ko para sa inyo (That is indeed a very good news. The Crown Prince prepared for it. He said he made the decision just a few days before our meeting and stressed that it is his gift for us),” he said.
Marcos said there was also an assurance from the Saudi Ministry of Labor that there will be no more repeats of unpaid salaries among Filipinos in the Middle East country and a commitment to establish an insurance system for OFWs.
“Sila mismo magbibigay ng insurance kung sakali man mangyari ulit ‘yan na malugi ‘yung korporasyon na tinatrabahuhan nila at hindi nila makuha ang
kanilang sahod, ‘yung insurance ang magbabayad (They will grant an insurance, just in case any corporations where they are working declare bankruptcy and fail to give their salaries),” the President said.
“So, marami rin talagang tinutulong sa atin ang pamahalaan ng Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (So, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is really helping us),” he said.
The amount will cover the unpaid salaries of workers employed by firms such as Saudi OGer, MMG, the Bin Laden group and other construction firms that have yet to pay back the Filipino workers, Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople said in a statement.
“The Crown Prince, His Royal Highness, announced and said that this was his gift — he really prepared for this, and this was an agreement reached by the Saudi government just a few days ago,” said Ople, who was with Marcos.
“So they have set aside 2 billion riyals to help our displaced workers. So this is really good news, and we thank Saudi Arabia,” she added.
Meanwhile, Marcos said he looks forward to receiving the Crown Prince in the Philippines to discuss more areas of cooperation.
“That would be very good kung makabisita sa atin si Crown Prince at hindi lamang tungkol sa mga labor, pati na ‘yung mga investments na pwede nating gawin (That would be very good if the Crown Prince would visit us and talk not just about labor but other possible investments),” the President said.
“Napag-usapan namin ang energy, at dahil alam naman natin na ang largest producer ng petroleum sa buong mundo ay Saudi Arabia at tinulungan tayo ng Saudi Arabia nung ‘70s and ‘80s nung nagkakaoil crisis, kaya’t baka sakali naman ay tayo maaaring makiusap muli na tulungan ulit tayo (We discussed energy, and since Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest petroleum producer and helped us during the oil crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, perhaps we can ask them to assist us again),” he added.