Press Releases Phil. Embassy-Riyadh

• Ramadan Schedule
• “Embassy on Wheels” Back in Al-Khobar
• Advisory on New Modus Operandi Re: Telephone Scam
• Philippine National Day of Prayer for Peace and Reconciliation
• The “Balikbayan” Privilege
• “Embassy on Wheels” Extends to Jubail
• Consular and Labor Services Extended to Filipinos in Yemen

Fifth Filipino Executed in Kingdom Since 2001

RIYADH— A 41-year-old former welder who worked at an auto shop in Riyadh on June 13, 2007 became the fifth Pinoy executed since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took office in 2001. She had pledged to increase efforts to prevent the execution of Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFWs) who end up on death row abroad.

Also executed yesterday in Jizan was Yemeni Yassin ibn Saleh Abdu Ahmed. He was found guilty of killing a Saudi with a pickax during an attempted robbery.

An Interior Ministry statement posted by the Saudi Press Agency said Reynaldo Cortez was beheaded yesterday morning at an undisclosed location in Riyadh. He was found guilty of the 2002 murder of a Pakistani driver. Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Antonio Villamor told Arab News the execution took place between 8:30 and 9 a.m. The Philippine Daily Inquirer said that Cortez leaves behind a wife and six children in Guagua, Pampanga.

Jeddah sandstorm

Kung sa Pilipinas ay may typhoon at windstorm at sa Europa ay may hailstorm, sa middle east meron naman ay may sandstorm.

Ang mga larawan sa ibaba ay kuha habang nagaganap ang sandstorm sa compound ng aking dating kumpanya sa Saudi Arabia, kuha ito sa loob ng CFY Jeddah, Saudi Archirodon Ltd.

3,000 OFWs stranded in RP amid new Saudi Policy

Over 3,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) cannot leave for Saudi Arabia because a new government hiring policy requires them to get a “visa attestation” from accredited agencies in that country, the local recruitment industry said Sunday. Vic Fernandez, Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI) president, said recruitment agencies in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain are now discussing the possibility of requesting their governments to adopt the same rule to make foreign workers get the services of accredited agencies in securing visas.

“Many OFWs supposed to be deployed to Saudi Arabia are now cooling their heels in Manila, while their employers seek agreements with Saudi-based recruitment agencies for compliance with this new rule delaying the processing procedure,” he said.

Fernandez said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) must act immediately to prevent massive loss of employment opportunities for Filipinos workers.

“This new rule should be further clarified and if possible ‘a status quo’ should be adopted by the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Manila until the matter is taken to the highest diplomatic channels by our Department of Foreign Affairs and the DOLE,” he said.

Thanks to Mayen Jaymalin of The Philippine Star

The Migrants’ Manifesto

To all Kabayans in the middle east, our little effort in signing this manifesto will be a big help to the great aim of those who are advocating this. Please read, sign and pass to fellow OFWs.

Please sign the manifesto

Migrants’ Manifesto for Issue-based Electoral Contest

We, the Overseas Filipinos worldwide, urge each and everyone in the coming May electoral contest to implore all political parties, emerging parties and their respective candidates to bring forth a platform-based campaign so that the electorate can choose credible persons who are worthy to lead the nation. In order to advance democratic governance in the Philippines, there should be a structure or process of reform that promotes increasingly participatory and accountable governance. In this context, the will and voice of the people should be respected at all times and the sanctity of the ballots must be safeguarded.