PH Consulate General in Jeddah Renders Consular Service, Assists Distressed Filipinos in Saudi Arabia’s Assir Region

Filipino applicants await their turn for passport encoding. (Jeddah PCG photo)

JEDDAH 18 July 2018 – The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah successfully rendered a full range of services to overseas Filipinos (OF) in the Assir Region of Saudi Arabia, during its consular mobile services in Khamis Mushayt, Assir Region on 06-07 July 2018.

Assir Region covers the provinces of Al Baha, Abha, Khamis Mushayt, Jizan, and Najran. The estimated total Filipino population in the entire region is 37,200, with around 17,000 residing in Jizan.

As part of the regular services during the consular mission, the Consulate General processed passport renewal, civil registry, notarials, and endorsement for police clearance applications. Overseas Voting Registration was also part of the services rendered to Filipinos.

Representatives from the Philippine Overseas and Labor Office addressed labor concerns of some OFWs, aside from processing Overseas Worker Welfare Administration membership renewals.

Welfare Attaché continued with interviews of employers of household workers to remind them of their responsibilities to their workers.

Representatives from the Social Security System and Pag-IBIG were also present to process membership renewals and answer queries from existing members.      

In continuing efforts to strengthen the integration of Assistance to Nationals (ATN) services during the consular mission, an ATN team joined the mobile service to receive, document, and address ATN cases. 

Prior to the actual Mission, the ATN team visited Filipinos under the custody of the Saudi Social Welfare Agency in Abha, and documented their concerns to facilitate their repatriation to the Philippines.

At the end of the consular mission, the ATN team also rescued three female household service workers (HSWs), who run-away from their employers due to maltreatment. The three HSWs will be temporarily sheltered at the Consulate's Bahay Kalinga in Jeddah while awaiting their repatriation.

Further boosting ATN services during the consular mission, representatives of the Azzer Law Firm—the Consulate’s legal retainer for ATN cases—answered questions about the status of pending cases, court hearings, and other legal matters raised by attendees of the missions. END

Representatives of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration address the concerns of clients. (Jeddah PCG photo)

Social Welfare Attache Priscilla N. Razon interviews the employer of a Filipina Household Service Worker. (Jeddah PCG photo)

For more information, visit www.jeddahpcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/philippine.consulate.jeddah.