Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac revealed plans for a delegation to Saudi Arabia to address the issue of unpaid wages for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). This follows the economic crisis in the Middle East in 2015 and 2016, which resulted in over 10,000 OFWs losing their jobs.
Cacdac emphasized in a Daily Tribune report that the department maintains ongoing communication with the claimants. “We continue to talk with the claimants, and 1,500 of them have received their checks amounting to 1 billion pesos that were released from the Saudi side,” he stated.
Usec. Bernard Olalia met with the beneficiaries recently to reaffirm the department’s commitment. “Just yesterday, Usec. Bernard Olalia met with the beneficiaries to assure them that we have ongoing talks with the Saudi side,” Cacdac added.
Olalia is set to visit Saudi Arabia this month to follow up on the second and future releases of unpaid wages. Cacdac plans to visit in July to discuss work recruitment processes.
The Saudi Labor Ministry has assured the Philippines that they will release the funds for the displaced workers. However, some displaced OFWs reported issues with their names not being processed or being rejected from the list of recipients submitted to Saudi Arabia.
“There are 10,900 names that are already there, but of course, there are still people who come forward to say that their names are not being processed or rejected,” Cacdac explained. “We are processing and getting their names, and we will bring them to Saudi.”