RIYADH,
Saudi Arabia, April 13 (PNA) -– President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s visit to the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a resounding success in terms of improving the lot
of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and strengthening the Philippines’ ties
with the Middle East country.
This
is the assessment of cabinet secretaries who were part of the delegation during
a press briefing held at the Marriott Courtyard yesterday.
Aside
from Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar and
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella, ACTS OFW Party-list Rep. Aniceto
Bertiz III, Department of Foreign Affairs Acting Secretary Enrique Manalo,
Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III , and
Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez attended and faced the
Filipino media.
Cabinet
members stressed that members of the Saudi government were singularly impressed
with Duterte’s governance style and were receptive about the prospects of
expanding business ties with the country.
“We
can explain the President’s visit here in three aspects: people, progress and
partnership,” Secretary Manalo said as he stressed that Saudi Arabia is the top
employment destination for Filipinos and is a major producer of fuel consumed
in the Philippines.
“We
also consider this trip as something aimed at creating progress, that is to
draw investors to the Philippines by showing potential investors that the
Philippines is a viable destination for doing their business, and the fact that
we also have a huge and fairly young population in the Philippines, ” Manalo
added.
Manalo
pointed out that the delegation hopes to engage Saudi investments to Mindanao
especially and particularly “its sectors of halal food security, energy
security and tourism."
“We
believe the ties will greatly benefit the Philippines and the Filipinos, and
will strengthen counter-terrorism, combatting illegal drugs as well as economic
partnership.”
For
his part, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said his counterpart in the Saudi
government also agreed to negotiate on new rules to improve working conditions
for Filipino overseas workers.
“We
are meeting with the Minister of Labor regarding the bilateral agreements that
we signed yesterday. Basically, these agreements refer to the labor standards
that provided our OFWs with rules on better wages, protection from
maltreatment, working hours and other labor issues,” Bello said.
Bello
announced that his request that more than 160 runaway workers who are stranded
in shelters in Saudi be allowed to return to the Philippines has been granted
by the Saudi government and will be allowed to fly home in time for the
President’s return.
