Saudi monarch, family praise hardworking Pinoys

JEDDAH — The Royal family of Saudi Arabia expressed their admiration for the more than one million Filipino workers in this Kingdom, praising them for their integrity, hard work and honesty.

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said no less than King Abdullah bin Abdulazziz al-Saud informed him of this compliment during their one-hour meeting in this scenic city by the storied Red Sea, where the Saudi monarch resides.

"This is a very successful meeting (with the King). He praised our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers). He told me that Filipino workers here are very hardworking, disciplined, very friendly, trustworthy, honest, kind-hearted and very religious," he told The STAR.

Similar observations were also made and relayed to the Philippine Speaker by other members of the Royal family, among them the Crown Prince Sultan, Prince Talal bin Abdulazziz al-Saud and the Riyadh governor, Prince Salman.

"In general, Filipinos are very honest and they have good reputation. I am very happy with them. My children are growing up with their Filipina nanny," Prince Talal told the Philippine delegation headed by De Venecia, and which included members of the House of Representatives and businessmen.

As the Saudi government’s appreciation, Prince Talal disclosed they even "helped build the best Philippine school in Riyadh," or the International Philippine School, which De Venecia and his delegation visited.

"This is a very good visit. We financed it (the school), and they have good students. They have 900 students and they are very excellent," Prince Talal told De Venecia, who later informed Filipino communities here of his "very constructive meeting."

Even members of the Saudi Parliament, or Shura Council, led by its Speaker Sheik Dr. Bin Hamaed acknowledged the skills of Filipinos, noting that they are "even better" than their Saudi counterparts in terms of expertise and talent.

Filipino workers here, either in the service provider industry or nurses, engineers and other professionals, are in fact paid higher salaries — by around 20 to 30 percent — than their counterparts from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.