ALVAREZ ALARMED AT SAFETY OF OFWs IN SAUDI ARABIA

MANILA, December 23, 2003 (STAR) Presidential adviser for overseas Filipino communities Heherson Alvarez has expressed alarm over the safety of thousands of Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia.

Alvarez asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to coordinate with the Department of Labor and Employment in drawing up contingency plans through the embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia to help Filipino workers when the threat of terrorism worsens.

There are over 600,000 Filipino workers deployed in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, Alvarez said that the US State Department has advised non-essential personnel of the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia to leave the country following intelligence reports of imminent attacks by international terrorists.

Alvarez said he intended to confer with officials of the DFA and the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia on the steps to be taken should the situation in the Kingdom become dangerous.

Alvarez said he wanted to be briefed on the evacuation plans for the Filipino workers, particularly on the availability of planes, how fast the embassy can alert the workers of such plans and gather them in holding areas, and how adequate the provisions are for the evacuees and how soon they could be flown out of the danger zone.

He will keep President Arroyo up to date on developments affecting Filipino workers, not only in Saudi Arabia, but in the rest of the Middle East, Alvarez added.

In Riyadh, 16 runaway Filipino workers have ended their hunger strike after a week of protest. Acting Labor Secretary Manuel Imson said the Filipinos have agreed to be taken to the nearest police station yesterday morning.

"After a long negotiation, they finally agreed to end their hunger strike and wait for their repatriation under normal procedures of the government of Saudi Arabia," he said.

Imson said the runaways could not be repatriated at once because their employers had to issue them exit visas as required under Saudi law.

The Filipino workers escaped from their employers because of maltreatment and non-payment of wages, he added.

Imson said the Filipinos will be taken to the immigration center, where their cases will be reviewed by the Saudi government.

"We would be working on the early resolution of their pending cases before a Saudi court, and they would be repatriated as soon as their exit visas have been issued," he said.

The Filipino workers underwent medical checkup, and they were found to be healthy despite their one-week hunger strike, he added.

Last week, the 16 Filipinos camped out in front of the Philippine embassy, and started the hunger strike to demand their immediate repatriation.

The US State Department has urged all American citizens residing or working in Saudi Arabia to leave, and advised Americans traveling to the Kingdom to defer their plans.

During the US invasion of Iraq, Mrs. Arroyo named Gen. Roy Cimatu, former Armed Forces chief, as her personal envoy to supervise the evacuation of OFWs from the Persian Gulf when needed. — Sammy Santos, Mayen Jaymalin