THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) will send an advance party to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) ahead of the planned talks between the two countries regarding the possible resumption of the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.
In a televised public briefing, DMW Assistant Secretary Venecio Legaspi said an advance party will fly to the Arab country to prepare for the visit of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople.
Legaspi said the DMW is also meeting with stakeholders regarding the forthcoming trip.
“There are ongoing studies and consultations in preparation for the visit of the Secretary to Saudi Arabia,” he said.
To recall, President Marcos Jr. had instructed Ople during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) to go to Saudi Arabia to conduct negotiations over the possibility of resuming OFW deployment there.
A deployment ban has been imposed by the Philippine government to KSA since November 2021 due to the P4.6 billion worth of unpaid wages and benefits to 9,000 repatriated Saudi OFWs, as well as issues of labor abuse involving a retired general in KSA and his Filipino household service workers.
In a related development, Legaspi assured recently repatriated OFWs from Saudi Arabia that they will be provided with the necessary reintegration assistance.
“The Department of Migrant Workers have ready programs. We need to be able to help our OFWs in their return to their home country,” said Legaspi.
Last Saturday, a total of 344 distressed OFWs returned home from Riyadh, KSA after they were repatriated by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Among the repatriated workers are four OFWs with medical conditions and five others suffering from mental illness, all of whom will be provided medical assistance.
Other repatriated OFWs, according to the DMW, will be provided transportation assistance for them to be immediately reunited with their families.