Pinoy labor attachés in Saudi probed

Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III has ordered the investigation of two labor attachés in Saudi Arabia for their administrative  liability in the stranding of  thousands of overseas workers in the Middle Eastern country.

Bello announced the probe as President Duterte and members of his cabinet lined up at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to welcome home 127 workers who were stranded in jobsites after a crisis hit some of the big players in the Kingdom’s construction industry.

The labor secretary blamed the two labor attaches—Rustico dela Fuente in Riyadh and Jainal Rasul in Jeddah—for failing to immediately respond to the plight of thousands of Filipino workers stranded as “slaves” or working without pay in some worksites. Most of them were caught in the situation because of the lack of documentary requirements for exit and money to come home.

Bello vowed to bring home 1,000 stranded overseas workers before Sept. 8, a day before the start of the Hajj,  and 2,000 more by the end of the month.

“We are grateful to the Saudi King for helping the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The President wants all (stranded) OFWs returned home,” Bello said. Jeannette I. Andrade

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