Philippine government brings one-stop service for overseas Filipinos to Riyadh
Saudi Arabia is the leading destination for overseas Filipino workers, with about 898,000 of them currently living and working in the Kingdom.
The DMW collaborated with other government agencies to bring them the Serbisyo Caravan, or service caravan, an outreach program that offers various state services.
'The Serbisyo Caravan here in the Middle East is part of the government's ongoing program to bring vital services directly to our OFWs,' Rommel Romato, the Philippine consul-general in Jeddah, told Arab News.
'By gathering multiple agencies in one place, the caravan makes it easier and faster for OFWs to access assistance without needing to make special trips to the Philippines.'
The services include welfare counseling, free legal consultations, business support assistance, as well as registration and processing of official documents, among other things that are usually only available within the Philippines.
Many Filipino nationals in the Saudi capital flocked to take advantage of the service caravan, with large numbers queuing since Friday morning, as seen in a video posted by the DMW on Facebook.
'We want to regularize this program as we expand our diplomatic and consular services to millions of OFWs abroad,' Romato said.
Philippine First Lady Louise Marcos arrived in Riyadh on Friday to oversee the launch of the outreach program. As part of the working visit, she will also meet with Filipino migrant workers in the Kingdom, according to Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro.
Though Philippine officials first launched the service caravan in Hong Kong last month, Friday's service marks the first time it was brought to the Middle East.
After Riyadh, the DMW is set to take the caravan program to the Saudi cities of Jeddah and Alkhobar, as well as Qatar and the UAE in July and August.
Around 20 percent of Filipino migrant workers are in Saudi Arabia, while about 13.6 percent live and work in the UAE, and another 6.2 percent are in Qatar.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
OPEC says JMMC does not hold decision-making authority over production levels
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Friday that the joint ministerial monitoring committee (JMMC), scheduled to convene on Monday, does not hold decision-making authority over production levels. OPEC added that claims linking the JMMC meeting to oil output changes or voluntary adjustments are 'inaccurate and fall outside its mandate.' An OPEC+ panel is unlikely to alter existing plans to raise oil output when it meets, four OPEC+ delegates said, noting the producer group is keen to recover market share while summer demand is helping to absorb the extra barrels.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
US faces $2 bln, year-long effort to replenish missile interceptors used to defend Israel
The US military will need more than a year to replenish the missile interceptors it deployed last month to help Israel defend against Iranian ballistic missile attacks, according to a new report. The cost to develop new interceptors for the two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries could approach $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing US officials and defense analysts. US officials said over 150 missiles were launched in response to Iranian attacks. 'That is nearly a quarter of the interceptors ever purchased by the Pentagon,' according to the Journal. Other types of interceptors were also deployed to protect Israel, including 80 SM-3s. Over the past two years, the US military has also expended a substantial number of munitions countering Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. That campaign continued until the Trump administration launched an offensive operation targeting Houthi leadership and weapons infrastructure in Yemen. The effort consumed large quantities of US interceptor missiles, including SM-2, SM-3, and SM-6 variants. Estimates for each cost are as follows: $2.1 million for an SM-2, $3.9 million for an SM-6 and $9.7 million for each SM-3 Block IB or $28 million for SM-3 Block IIA. While Israel has its own multi-layered air defense system, supported in large part by the US, it was running low on interceptors, US officials told WSJ. And one US official reportedly said that if Iran had decided to continue lobbing missiles, drones and rockets at Israel, the latter could easily have burned through its Arrow 3 munitions. Israel uses the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems for intercepting medium- and long-range ballistic missiles, as well as David's Sling and Iron Dome for short-range rockets and projectiles. Separately, the US successfully defeated the 'largest single Patriot engagement in US military history' when Iran retaliated for the US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites on the night of June 21 and lobbed a barrage of short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. In its strikes on Iran, the US dropped a total of 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), which are 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, and a US guided-missile submarine launched over two dozen Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan president invites Saudi investment, praises Riyadh's support in critical times
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday invited Saudi businesses to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan, underscoring the historic relationship between the two countries and Riyadh's critical role in helping Islamabad through difficult times. Zardari's remarks come as Pakistan looks to attract foreign investment to strengthen its economy. Saudi Arabia played a key role in stabilizing Pakistan's finances in recent years, depositing $2 billion into Pakistan's central bank in June 2023 to bolster foreign reserves. The Kingdom also helped unlock a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund later in the same year. 'Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy deep-rooted and historic relations based on shared faith and mutual trust,' the president said during a meeting with Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki in Islamabad according to a statement circulated by the presidency. 'We invite Saudi investors to explore investment opportunities in various sectors of the Pakistani economy.' The Saudi financial assistance to Pakistan two years ago came as the South Asian nation's reserves had dropped to a level where it could barely cover a few weeks of imports, bringing the country to the brink of sovereign default. Zardari expressed appreciation for Riyadh's continued support during the meeting and called for deeper engagement between the two nations on regional and international forums. Pakistan has been trying to further strengthen its economic relations with the Gulf countries amid improving macroeconomic indicators. It also signed 34 memorandums of understanding worth $2.8 billion with Saudi Arabia in October 2024, part of Islamabad's broader push to accelerate its economic recovery through export-led growth and foreign investment.
