Binay: Undocumented Saudi OFWs should visit Phl embassy

MANILA, Philippines - Undocumented migrant Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia should take advantage of the extended deadline by visiting the Philippine embassy in the kingdom, Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Wednesday.

“I appeal to our kababayans to utilize this additional time given them to submit all the needed requirements to the Philippine Embassy,” Binay said, following King Abdullah's decision to extend the July 3 deadline to four months. The extension is meant to allow foreign workers in the kingdom to fix their residency status to avoid arrest or deportation.

Binay, the presidential adviser for migrant workers' concerns, lauded the Saudi Arabian king's decision, adding that it will ease the anxieties of overseas Filipino workers in Saudi.

For its part, Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a non-government organization concerned with labor and migration issues, said the new Nov. 4 deadline provides sufficient time for foreign workers to finalize procedres needed to come home or transfer to another employer.

The group added that the extension is also beneficial for Filipina mothers who gave birth to their children in Saudi Arabia.

"The deadline extension gives our embassy more time to help these women and their children out but they would also have to cooperate because the welfare of their children is paramount and the repatriation process can be quite tedious," said Susan Ople, head of the policy center.

She added that clearer and practical reintegration options are also necessary to help the overseas Filipino workers who will have to come home because of the Saudi government's 'Saudization' policy which gives employment advantages to citizens of the kingdom.