All the unpaid wages of around 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who worked in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) will now be paid by its government, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople bared Friday, May 26. (DMW Sec. Susan Ople / Screenshot from DMW livestream)
Ople said the Saudi government has coordinated with its Ministry of Finance to process the claims and other benefits of the affected OFWs. She said the development was a product of the "fruitful" talks between the Philippine Government and the KSA. On April 14, the DMW said their discussions with the Saudi government were already in the final stages. “We no longer inquired about the amount but what is clear is that it is there and it is sufficient to pay not just the claims of our unpaid workers, but all other claims including those of their own people,” Ople said in a press briefing “This is a firm commitment on the part of the Saudi government by virtue of the order coming from the crown prince himself,” she added. DMW Usec. Bernard Olalia said the KSA government confirmed to Ople last May 24 that the payment of the unpaid wages of OFWs will be made and that “the full amount of payment is now allocated with the Ministry of Finance.” “There is already an official confirmation coming from no less than the minister of the [KSA government’s] MHRSD (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development),” he said. All claimants, according to the DMW chief, will be paid based on the corresponding legal documents they possess. Meanwhile, Ople said KSA officials are asking for more time to ensure that the processing of claims is being done in a legal and orderly manner. She said the KSA may be able to provide more details on the release of the claims by June or in the coming months. “Saudi Arabia gov’t will cascade to DMW all information and officials of the Ministry of Employment of Saudi will be flying to Manila to work on the claims payment,” she said.