Home 
MANILA, Philippines — Some 170 undocumented Filipinos who ended up living in squalor under a bridge in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will soon be repatriated to the Philippines.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) quoted Consul General Ezzedin Tago in Jeddah as saying that the group had been transferred to a Saudi deportation center for the processing of their exit papers.
Many were victims of “fixers” who offered to help them return home. While waiting for the consulate and Saudi authorities to process their repatriation papers, they took refuge under the Khandara Bridge in Jeddah.
As for the 60 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) stranded in the Maldives after their employer failed to pay their wages for the past five months, the government was giving their recruiter, Mayonview International Manpower Services, the opportunity to repatriate them, said DFA undersecretary for migrant workers affairs Esteban Conejos Jr.
“The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has already directed the local recruiter to buy the tickets, settle the claims and repatriate them as soon as possible,” he added.
The OFWs, who were hired to build houses for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, have been stranded on the island of Vilifushi, about 36 hours by boat from the capital of Male.
Migrante-International, an overseas workers’ group which documented their plight, reported Friday that two more groups of Filipinos, numbering about 200, are also stranded on two other islands, Villingili and Dhandhoo, have sought their help regarding unpaid wages and poor working conditions.
