Sen. Raffy Tulfo has expressed dismay over the failure of the
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to provide a specific timeline for
the release of the unpaid wages of 10,000 Overseas Filipino Workers in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, he told the DMW to stop giving “false hopes” to OFWs
by prematurely announcing unverified information to the media, such as
the supposed payment of claims.
He noted that OFWs “were excited about this pronouncement, but until
now, they are yet to receive any money.”
“You should give a time frame,” he told DMW officials present at the
Senate hearing on Thursday.
During the Aug. 17 organizational meeting of the Congressional
Oversight Committee on Migrant Workers, Tulfo said he followed up the
earlier announcement of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople that the
funds to pay off OFWs’ unpaid wage claims are already with the
Ministry of Finance of the Saudi government.
DMW Acting Secretary Bernard Olalia said Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman already promised that the Saudi government will soon process
the workers’ unpaid claims but he failed to give an exact date.
Foreign Affairs Usec. Eduardo de Vega later divulged that earlier this
year, Saudi officials told them that it is “not realistic to expect
payment of said claims” anytime soon.