MANILA — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Monday said it is aiming to complete by the end of April its list of the over 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Saudi Arabia who still have unpaid salaries and other benefits.
The statement comes shortly after the DMW vowed to resolve the issue of the workers’ unsettled claims by the end of the year.
This was after Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman vowed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the Middle Eastern country's government would shoulder the compensation for the OFWs.
“Ang gusto ng Saudi government, makapagpadala kami ng listahan after Ramadan... May imbitasyon ako to have bilateral talks with my counterpart on May 24. So May 20 aalis na ako para sa Saudi Arabia. So ang panawagan namin, by May 1, kumpleto na kami ng listahan with the cooperation of the claimants,” DMW Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople said in a public briefing Monday.
(The Saudi government wanted us to send a list after Ramadan. I've been invited for bilateral talks with my counterpart on May 24. So I will be leaving for Saudi Arabia by May 20. So we hope to complete the list of claimants by May 1, with the cooperation of the claimants themselves.)
“Ang gusto ng Saudi government, mauna na iyong listahan ng claims bago pa ako pumunta. May special committee kasi silang binuo. Para after Ramadan, on the first working day, makapagtrabaho na iyong committee habang wala pa ako doon,” she explained.
(The Saudi government wants the claimaints' list to be sent to them before I go there, as they have formed a special committee on the matter. The committee plans to work on the claims on the first working day after Ramadan while I am still not there yet.)
Ople urged the concerned OFWs to write the DMW and provide them the details of their unpaid claims, including their previous Saudi employer, IQAMA number (Saudi residence permit), passport number, and contact details.
Claimants may send their letters to a dedicated email for the matter: saudiclaims@dmw.gov.ph.
“Ngayon, kung may mga attachments na gustong ilagay si worker, puwede rin po para makatulong din po sa amin iyan sa validation process.”
(If the worker wishes to include attachments, he or she can do so to help in the validation process.)
Families of deceased claimants may also get in contact with the DMW to facilitate the payment of unpaid benefits, she added.
“Sa ngayon, nasa 7,500 plus na iyong emails namin. So, kaunti na lang mabubuo namin iyong 10,000 plus na bilang ng mga claimants,” the official said.
(So far, we have 7,500 emails, only a little left to go before we can complete the 10,000 claimants.)
“So, ang panawagan namin, hopefully before on May 1, all emails should be in, paano kung hindi nakapag-email for some reason? Well, ang priority po namin iyong nakapag-email. So, kung mapapakiusapan man, siguro after na iyon na ma-validate iyong talagang nakahabol sa deadline.”
(We hope that before May 1, all emails should be in. But what if a claimant was unable to send his or her email for some reason? Well, we will prioritize those who have already sent their emails. So, if they want to be accommodated, it will only be so after we have validated those who have sent their emails on or before the deadline.)
—Report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News
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