Continued Assistance for Stranded Workers in Saudi Urged

Image Caption: MB FILE – First batch of 180 OFW stranded in Saudi Arabia arrived at Ninoy Aquino International AIrport (NAIA) of eleven (11) Filipino workers who were repatriated from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as their health are deteriorating and needs medical attention.
(Ariel Fernandez / mb.com.ph)

by Ellalyn De Vera

As hundreds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remain stranded in Saudi Arabia, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) appealed to the government to continue providing assistance to the distressed workers until they can return safely to the Philippines.

A Philippine humanitarian mission to Saudi Arabia led by the Department of Foreign Affairs, DSWD, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Health, and Technological and Skills Development Administration reached out to the OFWs affected by the crisis.

“We are very happy for the success of the humanitarian mission and we laud the efforts of the members of the DSWD team who worked very hard to reach out to our stranded kababayan in Saudi Arabia,” DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said.

“However, based on the assessment of the team members themselves, much remains to be done because so many OFWs remain in dire straits in different part of Saudi Arabia. We have to continue our efforts to reach them and give them the assistance they need until they can return safely to the Philippines,” she added.

Taguiwalo said there is also an urgent need to ensure that the more vulnerable members of stranded OFW communities, which include women, children, and sickly individuals are given immediate assistance.

(Source: MB.com.ph)