The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Weng C. Ocfemia
Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) employed by nine construction companies in Saudi Arabia will get emergency assistance from the government after Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III approved the allocation of P500-million emergency assistance.
The affected OFWs who are currently stranded in Saudi Arabia used to work with Mohammed al-Mojil Group (MMG), Saudi Bin Laden Group of Companies (SBG), Saudi Oger Ltd. (SOL), Mohammad Hameed Al-Bargash & Bros. Trading & Construction Co., Aluminum Company (ALUMCO L.L.C.), Rajeh H. Al Merri Contracting & Trading Company, Fawzi Salah-Al Nairani Contracting Company, Arabtec Construction L.L.C. and Real Estate Development and Investment Company.
Bello said the cash assistance consisting of P20, 000 per affected OFW and P6, 000 for their family, hopes to somehow ease the hardships experienced by the affected OFWs brought by the economic crisis in the Middle East resulting from the fall of crude-oil prices.
The OWWA Board, based on the report and recommendation of the DOLE Special Mission led by Undersecretary Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III and the Department of Foreign Affairs Team, reported that affected OFWs need immediate assistance in the form of food, medicines and other relief goods, among other things.
Other officials who attended the OWWA Board meeting wer OWWA Administrator Rebecca J. Calzado, DOLE Undersecretary Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III, DBM Undersecretary Luz M. Cantor, DFA Undersecretary Jesus I. Yabes, POEA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac, and Women Sector Representative Estrella D. Añonuevo.
Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has issued the guidelines and procedures in the implementation of the Relief Assistance Program (RAP) for Affected OFWs in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and their Families.
The OWWwas exclusively for affected OFWs who were either staying in camps or live out of KSA or who have been repatriated to the Philippines but have not received their salaries or end-of-service benefits from the cited nine construction companies.
Beneficiaries are required to provide the following requirements:
1. For affected OFWs at the jobsite:
a. Accomplished Application Form; and
b. Proof of identity (passport, iqama, payslip; employment contract, or similar document that establishes the worker’s identity)
2. For repatriated workers:
a. Accomplished Application Form;
b. Passport or travel document; and
c. Proof of unpaid salaries/benefits (i.e. SPA in favor of Philippine Embassy Consulate official; employer certification, complaint filed in appropriate office, etc. )
3. For families of affected OFWs still at the jobsite:
a. Accomplished Application Form;
b. Proof of relationship to OFW: Photocopy of Birth Certificate of the OFW, if the OFW is single or Photocopy of Marriage Certificate, if the OFW is married; and
c. One valid government-issued ID with picture
The Philippine Embassy/Consulate/Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) shall provide the list of affected workers which shall form part of the Program database. The worker’s inclusion in the database shall be a pre-requisite for the release of financial assistance. In addition, the list of names of repatriated workers and qualified families shall form part of the database.