DFA: Nearly 800 Pinoys in KSA to be repatriated

Nearly 800 overstaying Filipinos in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia who are sheltered at the Seaport Hajj Terminal facility are expected to be brought home in a week's time. The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah said these 799 Filipinos had gone beyond the authorized period of stay in the Kingdom. "Following the successful negotiation and representation by the Consulate with the Saudi government and the immigration authorities, an arrangement was reached on May 30 between the Consulate, represented by Consul Ausan and Labor Attache Cabe, and the Jawazat (Saudi Directorate General for Passports)," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday. "The arrangement will be followed until every one of the 799 Filipinos will have been cleared for exit and flown home, hopefully, in time for the marking of the Migrant Workers' Day on June 7," the DFA added. Under the arrangement, the Filipinos will be brought by bus, in batches of 50 or so, and will be brought to the deportation center based on the order of their admission into the Seaport Hajj Terminal facility. "Upon their arrival at the deportation center, they will individually undergo fingerprinting, interview, and other immigration-related processes. Thereafter, the Filipinos will return to the Consulate-run facility," the DFA said. Filipinos with clearance and confirmed bookings will depart for the Philippines on dates scheduled on their tickets. With the special arrangement, they will no longer stay for a considerable period at the deportation center while awaiting exit clearance. Meanwhile, the flight arrangements are specially blocked bookings following the representation also done by the Consulate. A factor causing the delay of repatriation was the unavailability of flight seats, with only around 50 seats allocated per flight during the peak season. The airline bookings of the 799 Filipinos were assured through the efforts of the Office of the Vice President and the OWWA. The Hajj Terminal operations is a special arrangement made by the Philippine Government with Saudi authorities for the repatriation of overstaying Filipinos in the country. It started in September 2009 after representations by the Consulate with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the approval of the Office of the Emir of Makkah to address the cases of Filipinos staying under the Sitteen Khandara overpass in hope of an expedited deportation proceeding. They are brought to and are sheltered at the Hajj Terminal, while awaiting the provision of their ticket and the processing of their exit papers. - VVP, GMA News