No Filipino arrested in Saudi crackdown, says foreign office

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez: No arrests. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday denied reports that 15 Filipinos had been arrested in Saudi Arabia amid a nationwide crackdown on undocumented and overstaying foreign workers.

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said consular teams assembled to check for Philippine detainees in eight Saudi police stations did not find any Filipino in the facilities.

“Top officials of eight police stations confirmed that they had not arrested any undocumented Filipino worker since the end of the correction period,” Hernandez told a press briefing on Monday.

He made the statement to clarify information from Migrante, a global alliance of organizations of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families, that 15 Filipinos had been arrested in Saudi Arabia during the crackdown on illegal migrant workers.

Hernandez said Philippine consular teams would continue to check detention centers as the Saudi crackdown continues.

The kingdom, home to at least 1.3 million Filipinos, started stricter enforcement of its labor and immigration laws after extending two grace periods for undocumented foreign workers totaling seven months. The lapse of the second deadline on Nov. 3 signaled the full enforcement of the Saudization program, which gives priority in hiring to Saudi nationals.

Hernandez earlier said that the Saudi government was on the lookout for foreign workers with expired work permits and “iqamas” or residency permits as well as workers holding jobs outside their approved employment. The crackdown also targets employers who hire illegal workers.

The Philippine government has repatriated almost 5,000 undocumented Filipinos from Saudi Arabia in a span of more than two years since the start of Saudization, or the Saudi nationalization program.

This program restructures its labor market, giving priority to Saudi nationals in employment.

Hernandez said the government had spent P100 million for undocumented OFWs in Saudi Arabia, including their repatriation and shelter costs.