Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH – A senior official of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) left for the Kingdom on Wednesday to expedite the repatriation of undocumented Filipino workers camped outside the Philippine Consulate, DFA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez was quoted as saying by Philippine Daily Inquirer. Other consulates are also taking measures to help their nationals. The Indian consulate has opened a 24-hour helpline (0596810574) for the undocumented workers, who are crowding its premises everyday for emergency exit certificates. It has also placed drop boxes at the Indian international schools in Jeddah, Taif and Tabuk for the submission of applications which can be downloaded from the consulate website http://cgijeddah.mkcl.org/downloads/New%20emergency%20Form%202013.pdf Philippines Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Jesus Yabes is arriving to here meet Saudi officials. The foreign office is also preparing to move the Filipinos into shelters inside the consulate and other facilities for better accommodation while their exit papers are processed, Hernandez said on Wednesday. More than 2,000 undocumented Filipinos have been camping out in tents outside their consulate for the last two weeks after the Saudi authorities initiated a campaign against illegal workers. Hernandez said the government was “very much committed” to bring the Filipinos back home but admitted that the situation was “tricky and very challenging,” given the requirements of Saudi law. The undocumented Filipino workers are required to secure a Saudi clearance and a no-objection certificate (NOC), a document that an employer issues to a worker upon termination of his contract, to facilitate their travel. Last Wednesday, Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay told Saudi Gazette that he has asked the OFWs to make a narrative statement of their experiences at their work that forced them to escape from their sponsors. The official also told them to include the complete details of their sponsors such as names, telephone numbers and complete addresses including their photos and submit them to the consulate so that it could help them in persuading their employers to provide NOC to the runaway workers.
