Saudis start paying OFW claims
MIGRANT Filipino workers who lost their jobs due to the bankruptcies of Saudi Arabian companies in 2015 and 2016 have started receiving their unpaid compensation, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said Tuesday.
The President said the Overseas Filipino Bank (AFB) and Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) have started to process at least 1,104 checks from the Alinma Bank Indemnity of Saudi Arabia.
Of these, 843 checks amounting to close to P700 million in total had been cleared and credited in peso equivalent, said Mr. Marcos.
During his bilateral meeting with Mr. Marcos on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bangkok in November last year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud promised that some 2 billion Riyals will be paid to 10,544 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the bankruptcies about nine years ago, the Palace said in a press release. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza