MANILA, Philippines — Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Officer-in-Charge Hans Cacdac hopes to expedite the eventual distribution next year of unpaid wage claims of overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) in Saudi Arabia who were displaced when a number of firms / employers declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.
In a television interview, Cacdac said he is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia in January to reopen discussions on the matter with the Saudi government.
“Right now, we’re still working with Saudi authorities, with the Saudi government. I’m [scheduled] to visit Saudi Arabia, hopefully in January to reopen discussions again with the Saudi side. We know that there are current efforts to contact the beneficiaries and we’re still keeping things as modest as we could until we are clearly sure that the funds indeed are forthcoming,” said Cacdac in an interview over CNN Philippines’ The Source.
Cacdac said the DMW is “definitely working” on the issue. This, in line with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s directive to “persistently pursue the matter.”
“The Saudi side had already spoken and said that the funds are already there and it takes the mechanics of distribution to set the funds in motion,” said Cacdac.
The DMW previously said that the initial list provided to the Saudi side has around 12,000 to 15,000 potential claimants, subject to validation.
Earlier, Marcos said the government of Saudi Arabia has vowed to settle these unpaid wages, adding that all of these will be paid —- “it’s just a matter of when.”