Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Toots Ople announced that the funds for the unpaid claims of former overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia are already in place.

“Malinaw at damang dama namin ‘yung commitment ng Saudi Arabia. Significant progress na ang nakamit namin,” Ople said in a press briefing.

Ople said that they did no longer ask for the amount of the funds set aside by the Saudi government but she was assured by Minister Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, who heads the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, that it can cover all the claims of thousands of OFWs.

“The payment will be made. The payment is now allocated, ‘yun pong full amount is already allocated and with the Ministry of Finance,” DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia also said.

Ople said that their Saudi counterparts asked for more time to validate all the claims.

“Hiling lang nila ay konti pang oras para matiyak nila na nasa tamang proseso at legalidad ang pagkuha ng claims,” the secretary added.

“They said that by next month, which is June, they may be able to give us more details. If not June, at least in the coming months,” she added.

Source: The Filipino Times