Over 2,400 undocumented Filipinos to be repatriated from Saudi Arabia

MANILA, Philippines  (Xinhua) - At least 2,400 undocumented Filipinos in Saudi Arabia have to be repatriated by the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh as Saudi authorities have started its crackdown against illegal workers there, a senior government official said Monday.

Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said that there were still 1,488 Filipinos awaiting clearance from the Saudi immigration before they could leave the country, while 206 Filipinos are presently sheltered in the Migrant Overseas Workers Resource Center in Saudi.

Apart from them, she said that as of Nov. 2, a day before the deadline set by the Saudi government expired against undocumented workers, there were 727 Filipinos -- 428 women and 299 men -- have called up the Philippine Embassy asking inquiries for shelter.

Baldoz said that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh and Jeddah continue to monitor the status of illegal Filipinos seeking to correct their work status and transfer employment.

Despite appeal from the governments of India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines, the Saudi authorities announced that there would be no more extension for the correction of status of illegal or undocumented workers after the extended deadline ended on Nov. 3.