Binay returns from mission for OFWs in Middle East

Vice President Jejomar Binay returned to the Philippines before dawn Wednesday after successful visits to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Binay arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on an Etihad Airways flight at 1 a.m., radio dzBB reported. Upon his arrival, Binay said the Philippine government is now working to facilitate the repatriation of some 600 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia. In Qatar, Binay said high officials there are looking forward to hiring more Filipino workers in the coming years. He said Minister of Social Affairs and Acting Labor Minister Nasser bin Abdulla Al Hamaidi expressed his eagerness to see a greater Filipino labor presence in Qatar as it prepares to host the World Cup tournament in 2022. “Filipinos are always welcome in Doha. Our doors are open to them. They are hardworking, disciplined, highly skilled and very professional, and they have become part of our culture," added Crown Prince Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who Binay met in Qatar. Binay also met with the Filipino community there to personally hear about their concerns and answer questions from the 120 organizations present. Qatar is today the world’s richest country per capita (at $88,233), surpassing Norway and Luxembourg. "Qatar could be a major source of important investments for the Philippines, and is now our third trading partner in the Middle East. More than that, the Qataris are highly protective and openly biased in favor of Filipino professionals, semi-skilled and domestic workers, who now constitute about one-fifth of their native population." Binay said. There are some 2,000 Filipinos currently employed in Qatar. Also during his visit to Qatar, Binay said some 25 OFWs housed at the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) in Doha, Qatar will be returning home. The 25 workers include mostly runaways and overstaying OFWs. Their repatriation followed a series of bilateral discussions between Binay and top officials. Binay said he has already instructed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to expedite the repatriation of the workers. "As soon as their plane tickets are available, they can come home," he said. In Saudi Arabia, Binay said Saudi Labor Minister Adel Fakeih assured him of the repatriation of Filipinos housed at the FWRC in Riyadh and Jeddah who fall under the guidelines of the latest amnesty proclamation of King Abdullah. The Resource Centers mostly house OFWs who ran away from employers, had absconded, or are considered overstaying. Binay also said he looks forward to the projected reform, and expressed the readiness of the Philippine government to address concerns raised by Saudi Arabia. Among the projected reform would be the setting up of a 24-hour hotline which employees could use to report any complaint to the authorities, a system that would allow every employee to keep a bank account and require the employer to deposit her salary without any delay in that account, and legal assistance such as translation services in case of court cases. The minister called it “infrastructure of justice," which he said could be in place before the end of the year. — LBG, GMA News