The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued an advisory August 10 requiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other travelers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to declare upon arrival and departure to and from the Kingdom their cash, precious metals or jewelry worth over SR 60,000 (Saudi Riyals) or US$16,000.
BY ANGIE DE LARA
Migrant Watch
Bulatlat.com
Volume VIII, Number 28, August 17-23, 2008
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued an advisory August 10 requiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other travelers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to declare upon arrival and departure to and from the Kingdom their cash, precious metals or jewelry worth over SR 60,000 (Saudi Riyals) or US$16,000.
Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said the main purpose of the declaration was to prevent “money laundering and some forms of terrorist funding.”
A statement from the Saudi Embassy in Manila said the filing of the declaration was in accordance with Article 14 of the Anti-Money Laundering Law of the Kingdom and “those who do not declare the precious metals and jewelry they possess while leaving the Kingdom have to pay customs duty on them on their return.”
An organization of Filipino migrants slammed the new rule. Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante International chairperson said that it is unlikely that an average OFW will be entering or leaving Saudi Arabia with more than US$16,000 or about P704,000.
Regalado said most OFWs are deep in debt before entering Saudi Arabia. She said that after several months of working, they would go home still unable to pay for all their debts.
The Migrante leader noted that majority of their Rights and Welfare Cases come from the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia. She said that common abuses include sexual harassment, non-payment of wages, physical and emotional abuse, contract substitution and withholding of passports.
An estimated one million OFWs are in Saudi Arabia. Migrante said it is the biggest ‘importer’ of OFWs since the inception of the Philippines’ Labor Export Program in the 1970s.
Regalado further chided the DOLE and the Department of Justice for insinuating that OFWs are conduits for terrorists’ funding or are involved in money laundering.
In April 2005, the Department of Justice instructed the National Bureau of Investigation to closely monitor OFWs from the Middle East, especially Filipino Muslims, because they may come home “terrorist infected”. (Bulatlat.com)
