RP post vows aid to 33 arrested OFWs in Saudi

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh on Wednesday said it is extending assistance to over 30 runaway overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia following their arrest last week.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the 33 OFWs ran away from their employers and were arrested in a police raid in Al-Khobar on November 24.

Those arrested included 27 female OFWs, six male, and a month-old baby, according to Vice Consul Roussel Reyes.

"The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) is now coordinating with the police for the processing of the required documents to facilitate their repatriation," Reyes said.

Reyes added that the OFWs will be “likely" endorsed to the Saudi Social Welfare Agency or to the Dammam Deportation Center pending their repatriation to the Philippines.

Saudi Arabia remains the top destination for OFWs for the past seven years, with some 5.7 million Filipinos deployed in the oil-rich country from 2003 to 2009 based on records from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Majority of these workers are nurses, domestic helpers, caregivers and workers in the IT section.

In 2009, Filipinos from Saudi Arabia sent home some US$1.4 billion, registering the third highest OFW remittances next only to the US and Canada. - Jerrie M. Abella/KBK, GMANews.TV