After their visit to Saudi Arabia on May 24, Secretary Susan Ople promised the Saudi Claimants that they will give a weekly update through the assigned focal person, USec Bernard Olalia but until now he is yet to give updates regarding the talks on how and when the payment will be made. Claimants have been asking for an update on the Department of Migrant Workers Facebook page but no updates were given to them until now.
You know how hard-working Secretary Ople is, she herself is answering the comments on DMW posts while the focal person, USec, Bernard Olalia never bothers to give an update to affected OFWs.
The problem here is that the Philippine Government already lifted the deployment ban to Saudi Arabia and now, Saudi Companies are proactive in hiring Filipino workers. According to the report, Saudi Arabia is in need of 2 million Filipino workers within the next two years.
The Philippine Government should re-impose a deployment ban to force the Saudi Government to pay first the claimants of unpaid salaries before hiring anew.
Meanwhile here's the Full Press Statement of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople on the First Year Anniversary of PBBM’s Assumption into Office.
Clear goals, team spirit under President Marcos Jr.’s leadership yielded historic gains for OFWs
From Day One when President Marcos Jr. took his oath of office until today, he has made it clear to all of us in the Cabinet that we need to operate as a team, and to support each other’s goals, projects and plans for the people.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), being the youngest institution in the entire bureaucracy, was able to overcome the many hurdles of transitory work because of the team spirit that enabled us to tap the expertise of other Departments and agencies of the national government. As a result, we were able to put together the structure and necessary programs and services for our migrant workers and their families a year ahead of schedule.
The wisdom behind having such a department became apparently clear especially during crisis situations involving our OFWs. Working together with other agencies, the DMW was able to facilitate the safe return of more than 700 Filipinos, who were stranded at the height of the civil unrest in Sudan. Through OWWA and the DMW’s AKSYON Fund, the repatriated OFWs were able to receive financial aid so that they can begin a new chapter in their lives.
Teamwork combined with precise and clear presidential directives guided the DMW and its counterpart agencies in reaching out to foreign stakeholders and local maritime experts in addressing the deficiencies raised by the European Maritime Safety Agency in its audit reports dating as far back as 2006.
Filipino seafarers and foreign shipowners found a champion in President Marcos who invested time and effort in repeatedly reaching out to the international maritime sector until EMSA and the EU Commission released its report removing the risk of “de-certification” of thousands of Filipino seafarers.
Another festering problem involving the unpaid wages and benefits of at least 10,000 construction workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dating back to 8 years ago when huge construction firms declared bankruptcy is now in the last stretch of being resolved. This came about as a result of the bilateral talks between His Royal Highness Mohammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and President Marcos during the margins of the APEC Summit in Thailand last November. During that meeting, the Crown Prince gave his assurance to President Marcos that the Saudi government will shoulder the unpaid claims.
In my bilateral talks with Minister Ahmad bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi of the Ministry of Human Resource and Social Development, he said the funds to pay the unpaid wages and benefits of our OFWs are now with the Ministry of Finance and there is an inter-agency committee looking at how to efficiently manage the processing of such claims. Again, this has never happened before, and the DMW is hopeful that this matter will be resolved soon.
Digitalization is another aspect where teamwork is needed, and all hands are now on deck to address the challenges that most of our OFWs raise regarding the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC). Last night, we presented to various Filipino community leaders the DMW mobile app which will be launched next week. True to the “bayanihan spirit” that Filipinos are known for, the Filcom leaders present during the nearly two-hour zoom session volunteered to serve as “teachers” on how to download and use the app. More training and information sessions are scheduled to get more Filcom leaders onboard as we continue to test and finetune the app prior to its formal launch.
The first year of President Marcos Jr. yielded solutions to long-festering problems besetting our OFWs including our seafarers because the goals were clear, the focus sharp, and the all-important team spirit was very much felt across the bureaucracy. Credit must also be given to the full support of the legislative branch to ongoing efforts to build a strong department and expand services to our OFWs.
The future looks bright in the field of overseas employment because this sense of teamwork, camaraderie, and shared initiatives are infectious leading to a more upbeat outlook on the Philippines among foreign employers. Deployment in both the land-based and sea-based sectors are up, and these are reflected also in the increase in dollar remittances sent last year. That we also have the best workers in the world cannot simply be denied – they remain and will always be our modern-day heroes.
