OVER 7,500 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were retrenched from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have submitted the required email for the processing of their claims, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
In a television interview with PTV on Monday, DMW Secretary Susan V. Ople disclosed the enthusiastic response from the affected OFWs since she urged them last Friday to submit the email containing the needed details for the processing at saudiclaims@dmw.gov.ph.
The emails should contain the contact details, record of employment in KSA, passport number and salary of the concerned claimants before they were displaced.
“As of now, 7,500 plus [OFWs] have emailed us so it will take a few more [emails] so we can complete the 10,000 plus number of claimants,” Ople said in Filipino.
“Hopefully, before May 1, all the emails will be in,” she added.
Those who can submit the needed email will be prioritized by the Saudi government in processing the claims, according to Ople.
The DMW warned unscrupulous individuals not to try filing fake claims since all of the applications will be thoroughly screened by the Saudi government.
“They may be able to get through us, but they know it will be the Saudi government, which will screen and conduct the validation process [for the claims],” Ople explained.
The Saudi government has allocated 2 billion Saudi Riyal to settle the claims of around 10,000 OFW who worked in Saudi firms that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.
The DMW official earlier said she hopes the guidelines for the processing and release of the claims will be completed during her meeting with the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) on May 24, 2023.
The guidelines, she said, will pave the way for the payment of the claims within the year.
Aside from the claims, Ople said she will also discuss with the MHRSD other issues concerning OFWs, including their wages and standard employment contract.
