The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday announced it has started crafting the master list for the unsettled claims of around 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW), who were displaced from their employment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 2016.
The move was in preparation for the meeting of DMW Secretary Susan V. Ople with the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) Ahmad bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi in KSA on May 24, 2023 to finalize the guidelines for the release of the unpaid claims of the retrenched OFWs.
In a news conference, Ople instructed the affected OFWs to submit their contact details and record of employment in KSA, which includes their Iqama number, as well as their passport number and salary before they were displaced at saudiclaims@dmw.gov.ph so they can be included in the list.
She extended the appeal even to those who have previously registered with DMW or in the platform provided by the Saudi government, and those who availed of financial aid from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
“It is better if they will email us, because we don’t want to make mistakes [in the processing of claims],” Ople said.
She said they would use the email response to validate their existing database of beneficiaries.
Deadline for submission
DMW Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia said they have registered around 5,000 “validated” beneficiaries and another 1,400 who are still undergoing screening in their platform.
DMW is targeting to turn over the list of beneficiaries to the special committee created by the Saudi government to settle the claims by the first week of May.
“If 90 percent [of the retrenched OFWs] are able to submit [their email], I feel we can [do the] turnover. Then if there would be more submissions after that, we will continue to accept them. But our appeal is for them to send their email by the end of April or May 1,” Ople said.
The DMW chief stressed even OFWs, who have availed of financial aid from OWWA, can still file their claims by sending the email.
“The assistance from the government is separate from their claims, which they are entitled to receive since they worked for it,” Ople pointed out.
Ople said the processing of the claims of the affected OFWs was fast tracked after Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman committed to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to settle it during the 29th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Thailand last November.
The Saudi government said it would allocate 2 billion Saudi riyals to settle the claims of around 10,000 OFWs, who worked in Saudi firms that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.
