Philippines Holds Off on Saudi Deployment Ban as It Monitors Riyadh Airport Attack Aftermath
Key Takeaways
- •The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers has not imposed a deployment ban on Saudi Arabia following the missile and drone strikes on Riyadh's international airport, so existing employment and travel arrangements for Filipino workers continue.
- •DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said economic life in the kingdom continues and the attacks appear to be targeted, while the agency assesses the situation with the Departments of Foreign Affairs and National Defense.
- •Four Filipinos were injured in the Oct. 10 attack on King Khalid International Airport; one has been discharged and three remain in intensive care, with at least one in critical condition.
- •The temporary closure of the airport left 30 overseas Filipino workers and their dependents stranded, and 20 of them are staying in hotels sponsored by the DMW and OWWA while the rest were collected by families or employers.
- •Saudi Arabia hosts a Filipino community of about 1 million and remains a leading destination for overseas workers, with remittances serving as a major pillar of the Philippine economy.
The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the government agency that oversees overseas employment, said on Monday that no deployment ban has been imposed on Saudi Arabia as it continues to monitor the situation on the ground following fatal missile and drone strikes on Riyadh's international airport.
"Economic life continues within the kingdom, and what we're seeing is the attacks are targeted," DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac told the press on Monday.
A deployment ban would halt the processing and departure of newly hired workers to an affected destination; with none in place, existing employment and travel arrangements for Filipinos bound for the kingdom remain in effect.
Mr. Cacdac noted that Saudi Arabia has kept overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) safe for decades, and that the Filipino community there has grown to 1 million. The kingdom has long ranked among the leading destinations for OFWs, and money sent home by Filipinos working abroad is a major pillar of the Philippine economy — a footprint that makes Manila's deployment decisions on the kingdom closely watched by the families who depend on those earnings.
The DMW chief assured the public that the agency is coordinating closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense to assess the political and security situation in the kingdom, with the condition of the injured and the stranded among the immediate items in that assessment.
Injured Filipinos
Mr. Cacdac also provided updates on the four Filipinos injured in the Oct. 10 attack on King Khalid International Airport, the main airport serving the Saudi capital.
One of the injured, who sustained trauma burns and a lumbar injury, has been discharged from the hospital, according to the DMW. The three others remain in the intensive care units of various Riyadh hospitals, with at least one in critical condition.
Stranded Workers
The temporary closure of King Khalid International Airport left 30 OFWs and their dependents stranded, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Director Patricia Yvonne M. Caunan said. OWWA is the government agency charged with the welfare of Filipinos working overseas and their families.
Ms. Caunan said 20 of those affected are now staying in DMW-OWWA-sponsored hotels, while the others have been picked up by their families or employers.
Source: BusinessWorld Online — Francessca S. Abalos
