Philippines resumes sending workers to Saudi Arabia

Philippines resumes sending workers to Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Embassy in Manila also confirmed the development with a post on Twitter, expressing the Saudi "government's keenness to protect departing workers from the costs of precautionary protocols.“ On Friday, hundreds of Saudi-bound Filipino workers “” unaware of the suspension order issued by the labor department on Thursday afternoon “” found themselves stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the capital region, Metro Manila. Cielo Villaluna, a spokesperson for the Philippine Airlines, said that 283 OFWs were stopped from boarding the Manila-Riyadh flight, while 120 were not accepted on its Manila-Dammam flight. Bello said that after the Kingdom's assurance, he had advised the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to immediately lift the ban on deployment and provide the necessary clearance to all OFWs traveling to the Kingdom. "I understand that the suspension order drew confusion and irritation among our affected departing OFWs. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience and momentary anguish that it may have caused our dear OFWs. It was in the best interest of our OFWs that such a decision had to be made,“ he added. In a radio interview on Saturday, Bello explained that he was compelled to order the temporary deployment ban to "protect the