DOLE to OFWs: Observe, learn, and comply with KSA law

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) advises overseas Filipino workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to strictly observe, and follow the KSA law.

“Observe, comply, and honor the laws in your country of destination,” Labor & Employment chief Rosalinda Baldoz, in a statement said.

The labor chief made the statement after receiving a letter from the Assistant Secretary Petronila P. Garcia of the Department of Foreign Affairs informing the DOLE of a recent issuance from Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) entitled “Rules Governing Law-Breaching Foreign Workers”.

According to the said issuance, the Ministry of Interior, represented by its law enforcement agencies, shall undertake the pursuit, apprehension, penalizing, and deportation of foreign workers who work for their own account, or illegal labor; those who abscond from work; overstayers, including holders of Hajj, Umrah, tourism, medical treatment, transit, or visit (of all types) visas; and infiltrators arrested outside the border area. It will also pursue anyone who employs offending foreign wokers; allows his workers to work for their own account; provides cover, harbors, or transports the same or aids them by any means, as well as recruiters who do not report overstaying recruits.

An offending foreign worker shall be deported at the expense of the employer, unless the worker absconds from work and is reported immediately. Foreign workers entering the Kingdom under Hajj or Umrah visa, visit visa of all types, or other types of visa, or absconded from work, shall be deported at the expense of the person employing him.

If he is working on his own account, he shall be deported at his own expense, or at the expense of the state, if he cannot afford a ticket.

Otherwise, he shall be deported at the expense of the company, establishment, or person sponsoring his visit, the carrier, or the person providing him with cover. Any deported foreigner shall be prohibited from entering the Kingdom, in accordance with the periods and procedures specified in regulations to be issued, pursuant to a decision by the Minister of the Interior.

Hajj and Umrah companies and establishment shall notify the competent authorities of any visitor who overstays his Hajj or Umrah visa.

The same should be done by a person sponsoring a visitor who prolongs his stay in the Kingdom.

Otherwise, said sponsor shall be deemed to be committing an instance of cover up. Companies, private establishments, and individuals should ensure that the foreign workers they hire obtain and renew their iqama, or the residence, and work permits in due time.

They should not employ workers of third parties, nor allow their workers to work for third parties, without following established statutory rules or work for their account. Within five days, they should notify the competent authorities of workers absconding from work.

Violators of this rule will be deprived of the right to obtain work or visit visa for a period not exceeding five years.

Government agencies should also ensure that all foreigners working for them or in fields falling within their jurisdictions have valid iqama and work permits or are employed under officially approved contracts.

“It pays to be obedient. You will never go wrong if you are following the rules and regulations of any country you are in,” Baldoz said.

“If you have nothing to worry about, you can do you work properly and you will be able to realize what you came there for,” Baldoz added.

- See more at: http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=231386828480#sthash.5B0b6KiA.dpuf

OFW Dies in Jeddah Consulate

An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who has been seeking assistance for repatriation from the Philippine government since 2011 after he was diagnosed with ulcer died Wednesday last week inside the consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Raul Hernandez said repatriation is now being arranged for the Filipino who was identified by migrant rights watchdog Migrante as Danilo Grefadilyo of Sorsogon. Hernandez said the OFW was last seen resting alone in one of the benches of the consulate on April 3, long before undocumented Filipinos began camping out near the consulate.
Grefadilyo, who appeared sick and weak, told consulate officials that he has not eaten for several days due to digestion problems and that “the food he eats was being rejected by his stomach, said Hernandez. (Roy C. Mabasa)

source: TEMPO

2 Filipino Dies in Hajj Pilgrim

The preparations have been thorough and elaborate so that the Haj performance this year for all the pilgrims, including Filipino Muslims, could be as comfortable as could be," Tago told Arab News by phone from Makkah.


Tago said that after Thursday Filipino pilgrims will begin their return to the Philippines.

"Most of the pilgrims, if not all of them, will be attending a reception that the Consulate General in Jeddah will host for them before they leave for the Philippines," Tago said.

He added that everything went smoothly for the Filipino pilgrims except for the two who died just after arrival in the Kingdom to perform Haj. The two fatalities were identified as Zalika Usman Ali, who died in Madinah, and Talusan Badpil, who died in Makkah. The causes of death were not provided. Both fatalities were from the province of Maguindanao.

"There are approximately 4,100 Filipino pilgrims this year. President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III designated Dr. Hamid A. Barra as 'Amirul Haj' this year," said Abdurrahheym Macud, administrative officer of the Consulate General in Jeddah.

Aquino gave him the authority to travel to fulfill his duties in "coordination with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and to submit a post-Haj report.

Barra, who is also the co-chairman of the Ulema-Bishops Council of the Philippines, is also the dean of Islamic Studies at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City.

source:  ArabNews.com