Government urged to ensure safety of OFWs in Saudi amid Yemen missile strike

Following a series of Yemeni missile attacks on Riyadh and three other Saudi cities, two members of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs on Tuesday urged the departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to get the country’s contingency teams in Saudi Arabia ready.

Party-list Rep. Aniceto D. Bertiz III of ACTS OFW  and Rep. Winston Castelo of the Second District of Quezon City said the DFA and DOLE should always be ready for situations like this and asked the two departments to provide the public an update on the situation and ascertain the safety of 1.2 million Filipinos in Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi Arabia is home to over a million overseas Filipino workers [OFWs]—the biggest in the Middle East—who could be at risk in case the situation between Yemen and Saudi Arabia deteriorates,” Castelo said.

The lawmaker added that this is not the first time that Saudi Arabia had been fired upon by Yemeni rebels, who had taken over the government in the poorest country in the Middle East.

“So this should be just routine exercise for the DFA and DOLE. Nevertheless, the two agencies have to be on their toes and be able to mobilize its personnel in Saudi Arabia at the touch of the button,” he said.

Castelo added the DFA and DOLE should have maintained an inventory of OFWs in critical areas in Saudi Arabia so that they could be alerted at a moment’s notice.

“There should also be a quick monitoring and feedback mechanism so that authorities will immediately know the status of OFWs and assistance can be dispatched when necessary,” he added.

Bertiz, meanwhile, said the attack endangered the lives of Filipino workers in the world’s largest oil producer.

“There are over 1.2 million Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia. Any ballistic missile that is not intercepted by the Saudi Air Defense is bound to put in harm’s way the lives of our workers there,” Bertiz said.

According to Bertiz, in Riyadh alone, over three missiles were effectively intercepted by the Saudi Air Defense, where there are more than 400,000 Filipino workers.

Citing the Saudi military, he added that Saudi Air Defense captured in the air seven inbound ballistic missiles last Sunday evening, including three aimed at Riyadh.

He said the missile assault was apparently staged by Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen.