DMW: Checks for 300 displaced Saudi OFWs cleared in next few weeks

Around 300 displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia are expected to receive their unpaid wages in the next few weeks through checks distributed by the Saudi government.

The checks, according to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac, are due to be cleared in the next few weeks. 

“This is just the start of what we see as a deliberate process of distribution of claimants’ checks and encashment resulting into the full payout of each of our displaced OFWs’ unpaid claims and other benefits,” Cacdac said.

Citing President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Cacdac said the payment for some 1,104 claimants started in late January. 

Around 843 of these claimants have already been able to encash their money, according to DMW.

The Overseas Filipino Bank (OF Bank) and LandBank of the Philippines (LBP) assisted the concerned OFWs and allowed them to open accounts where the claims could be deposited.

Aside from the checks for the 1,104 claimants, the DMW said another batch of 400 checks are expected to be distributed in March.

This will bring the number of Saudi OFW claimants’ checks distributed for payout and encashment to around 1,500, the DMW said.

As of the third quarter of 2023, the DMW submitted to Saudi authorities a list of 10,554 displaced Saudi OFW claimants.

The DMW said it is working on allowing the heirs of claimants who have passed away to receive the payouts, as well as addressing minor discrepancies in terms of the claimants’ real names and the names written on the checks. 

To resolve these, The Landbank and Overseas Filipinos Bank are helping the DMW, the agency said.

“We will continue working with our Saudi counterparts to resolve these issues and we will continue assisting our OFWs and their families through this final stage in receiving their long overdue wages and benefits,” Cacdac said.

Marcos in October last year said the Saudi Arabia government has assured him that the settlement of the OFWs’ unpaid wages was already being processed.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November 2022 committed to allocate some 2 billion riyals for the unpaid salaries of OFWs employed by construction companies that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA Integrated News