27 December 2014 - The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh bade farewell to a group of 58 female workers who benefitted from the correction period and obtained exit visas through the Saudi Social Welfare Authority and the General Directorate for Passports (Jawazat) as they were leaving for the Riyadh King Khaled International Airport around noon on December 23.

Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin Tago and Consul General Marshall Louis Alferez joined officials from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh in seeing the 58 off as they prepared to leave for the airport.  The 58 are all Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) active members, and OWWA advanced their repatriation tickets.  Although flights to the Philippines are all fully booked during this season, OWWA arranged for their block booking to ensure that they are repatriated as soon as possible.

“I received confirmation in the afternoon from Labor Attache Rustico Dela Fuente that the 58 were all cleared by the airport authorities, and boarded their flights back to the Philippines via Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airlines,” said Ambassador Tago. 

As of December 24 and during the seven-month correction period that started in April, the Philippine Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), arranged and paid for the repatriation of 2,911 irregular Filipinos from Riyadh and Eastern Region.  This was facilitated and arranged by the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. 

This number does not include those repatriated on the expense of the employers, or their Philippine or Saudi recruitment agencies, or those advanced by OWWA for active members.  Under Republic Act 10022, the primary responsibility for repatriation of a worker lies in the employer, and the recruitment agencies.  If the employer and recruitment agency do not shoulder the repatriation cost of the worker and he/she is still an OWWA member, OWWA may advance the cost of repatriation. END