1,500 indemnity checks released to OFWs who lost jobs in Saudi — DMW

More overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who lost their jobs due to the closure of construction firms in Saudi Arabia have processed and received their labor claims, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) says on Monday, February 19, 2024. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — More than 1,500 indemnity checks have been sent to Filipino workers who lost their jobs due to the closure of firms in Saudi Arabia.

Migrant Workers Undersecretary Bernard Olalia disclosed the matter in a press briefing on Thursday.

READ: DMW: 1,100 displaced OFWs get indemnity from Saudi Arabia

“Mahigit 1,506 po ang alinma bank checks na naipadala sa ating mga overseas Filipino workers [na nasa] Pilipinas at nasa 99 percent na po ang naideposit at nacredit sa account ng mahigit 1,300 OFWs natin na nakatanggap ng sinasabi nating alinma bank checks,” said Olalia.

(More than 1,506 alinma bank checks have been sent to our OFWs [in] the Philippines and 99 percent have been deposited and credited to the accounts of our more than 1,300 OFWs who have received what we call Alinma bank checks.)

He then added that this is equivalent to 65 million Saudi riyals or more or less $15 or $17 million.

In peso, the amount totals to at least P977,557,926.80.

READ: Release of compensation for displaced Saudi OFWs ongoing – Marcos

“As we speak, we are accepting, helping, and facilitating the deposit of all these checks with any Landbank or Overseas Filipino Bank so that OFWs will be able to finally deposit, encash, and withdraw the amounts of the checks,” said Olalia.

DMW previously said that the initial list provided to the Saudi side comprises about 12,000 to 15,000 Filipino potential claimants, but it still needs to be validated.

These claimants were displaced when companies in Saudi Arabia declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.