The prince of Saudi Arabia promised to pay the missing salaries of more than 10,000 Overseas Filipino Workers.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will allocate 2 billion for the payment of wages for OFWs, most of them got affected when the country encountered a crisis in 2015 and 2016.
In the bilateral meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the crown prince made the promise to make sure that the workers are compensated.
Bin Salman is also the prime minister of Saudi Arabia.
“Napakagandang balita talaga. At pinaghandaan talaga tayo ni Crown Prince. Kaya’t sabi niya ‘yung desisyon na ‘yan ay nangyari lamang noong nakaraang ilang araw at dahil nga magkikita kami at sabi niya ito ‘yung regalo ko para sa inyo,” says Marcos.
According to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the said promise of KSA will be given to OFWs who were not able to get their salaries when their company declared bankruptcy during the 2015-2016 crisis.
“The Crown Prince, His Royal Highness, announced and said that this was his gift — he really prepared for this and this was an agreement reached by the Saudi government just a few days ago,” says Susan Ople, DMW Secretary.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in KSA posted a video of the meeting which is a sideline conversation following the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held in Bangkok, Thailand.
In 2021, Department of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III declared that Saudi Arabia has to pay the P4.6 billion salary for the 9,000 OFWs in their country.
