Tulfo to DMW: Don't give OFWs false hopes on unpaid wages claims
Senator Raffy T. Tulfo has expressed dismay on the failure of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to provide specific timeline regarding the release of the unpaid wages claims of 10,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
During the Aug. 17 organizational meeting of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Migrant Workers, which Tulfo chairs, he wanted a clarification on an earlier announcement of DMW Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople that the funds to pay off OFWs’ unpaid wage claims are already with the Ministry of Finance of the Saudi government.
DMW Acting Secretary Bernard Olalia said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman already promised that the Saudi government would soon process the workers’ unpaid claims but he failed to give an exact date.
On the contrary, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega divulged that, earlier this year, they already reported that it is not realistic to expect payment of said claims anytime soon.
This pronouncement prompted Tulfo to tell DMW to stop giving “false hopes” to OFWs by prematurely announcing unverified information to the media, such as the supposed payment of claims.
“Marami sa ating mga pobreng OFW ang na-excite dahil dito pero hanggang ngayon ay wala pa ring perang sumasayad sa palad nila (Many poor OFWs are excited on hearing news on their money claims but none has reached their palms so far). Dapat ay magbigay kayo ng time frame (You should give a time frame),” Tulfo said.