1st batch of laid-off OFWs gets wages from Saudi

Hans Leo Cacdac, officer in charge of the DMWLYN RILLON/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday said another batch of displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would receive payouts for their unpaid wages and other benefits from Saudi construction firms that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.

Hans Leo Cacdac, officer in charge of the DMW, said in a statement another tranche of 400 checks would be distributed within the next month, bringing the total number of Saudi OFW claimants’ checks distributed for payout and encashment to about 1,500.

On Tuesday, Malacañang announced the first batch of 1,104 claimants totaling P868.7 million had been cleared by the Alinma Bank in Saudi Arabia through the Land Bank of the Philippines and transmitted to the Overseas Filipino Bank.

A total of 843 claimants have received and cleared their checks, equivalent to around P700 million.

Cacdac said the remaining 300 checks from the first batch of checks would be distributed in the next few weeks.

In the third quarter of 2023, the DMW said it submitted to Saudi authorities a list of 10,554 displaced Saudi OFW claimants with verified “iqamas,” the official government permit required to live and work in Saudi Arabia.

“This is just the start of what we see as a deliberate process of distribution of claimants’ checks and encashment resulting [in] the full payout of each of our displaced OFWs’ unpaid claims and other benefits,” Cacdac said.

He noted, however, that more work needs to be done such as the permission for heirs of the claimants who have passed away to receive the payouts and addressing discrepancies in the real names of the OFWs and the names written on their checks.

“We will continue working with our Saudi counterparts to resolve these issues and we will continue assisting our OFWs and their families through this final stage in receiving their long overdue wages and benefits,” Cacdac said.