843 displaced Saudi OFWs, so far, receive unpaid wages – DMW

Department of Migrant Workers and overseas Filipino workers. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Officer in Charge Hans Cacdac on Tuesday evening said 843 displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who worked for construction firms in Saudi Arabia that went bankrupt in 2015 and in 2016  have so far received their unpaid salaries.

 In a press briefing, Cacdac said 843 cheques worth P691.4 million have so far been released.

“At this stage, based on the certification from the Overseas Filipinos Bank, we have 843 checks that have been cleared. This covers approximately around P691.4 million and we are still waiting around 300 more cheques at this stage,” said Cacdac.

“We have reports this evening that there are around an additional 400 to make it 1,500 with cheques and we too will assist them along these lines,” he added.

Cacdac said the DMW is helping all claimants who have yet to receive their payments. 

“We are constantly engaging with the Saudi side with respect to those who had not yet received their cheques,” he said.

Cacdac said it has been a little over a week since the first payouts were made.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday announced the ongoing payout yseveral ears after Saudi-based Filipino workers were displaced.