DEPARTMENT of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said on Monday that he will be visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) next month to follow up on unpaid monetary claims of thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
In November 2022, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s meeting with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman paved the way for the allotment of 2 billion Saudi riyals for the claims, allowing some 1,500 OFWs to receive their checks from the Saudi Alinma Bank between November and December last year.
About 10,000 OFWs were displaced in KSA from companies that went bankrupt from 2015 to 2016.
“On our list of topics for discussion with our Saudi counterparts is the continuing disbursement of claims due our workers,” said Mr. Cacdac.
He added that recruitment and employment mechanisms for OFWs in KSA and its request for more OFWs to aid its Vision 2030 development program would also be discussed during his visit. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana