DAVAO CITY — Four over a dozen of the Overseas Filipino Workers who incurred debts in Saudi Arabia have returned to the country after the Saudi Arabia court ordered their deportation. The OFW’s failure to pay their loans led their imprsonment, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced in a press conference on Wednesday.
Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac of the DMW revealed that the OFW’s loaned for vehicle purchases but failed to pay.
Cacdac revealed, a certain “Manuel,” a printing press technician, was in jail for five years and eight months, while “Edgar,” an aircon technician was in prison for three years. while “Rey,” a trailer driver, and “Mario,” a merchandiser, were imprisoned for three years.
To the OFW’s, Cacdac advised “Very mindful of the debts they incur and kasi nga nga (this is because) very strict, very harsh ang punishment sa host country like Saudi laws for instance, with respect to incurring of unpaid debts.”
He narrated, the four OFW’s incurred huge debts and failed to pay them which caused them to land in jail for years given the stiff laws of Saudi Arabia but recently the court ordered their deportation.
Though he revealed many Filipinos in the Middle East are drowned to debts, he did not give the exact number of OFW’s still languishing in jail due to unpaid debts.
The four OFW’s arrived last Sunday (July 16) and re with their families now.
The four received PHP50,000 each as financial assistance from the DMW. They will also be provided with free transportation to their home provinces.
Cacdac, who had met with the OFWs during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia, said the DMW will also evaluate their level of skills and competencies for possible redeployment overseas, or local employment if they decide to stay in the Philippines.
The assessment is part of psycho-social evaluation and assessment services being provided by the DMW.
