Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the Philippine has always been a positive one. “We rarely receive any complaints from Filipino expatriates in the Kingdom. The Saudi company’s case is not is a rare thing to happen. We have sued the company for its delay and we have a Saudi lawyer representing us. The case is still pending in the court and we are waiting for the final verdict,” said Tago.

Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III will be paying a visit to the Kingdom in the near future, he added.

“We are currently organizing for the president to come and meet the King. The Philippines would like to continue its relationship with the Kingdom especially the contribution of the Filipino expatriates to the Saudi labor market,” said Tago.

He also said the Philippine Ministry of Labor is aware of the Ramadan delay in Filipino housemaids.

“The cause of the delay is that there are more requests for housemaids than there are candidates to send. Also, the processes requested, though necessary, are too many so they are taking part in the delay. The Philippine Ministry of Labor is doing its best to expedite the process,” said Tago.

He added the Philippine ministry does not sending anyone available to the Kingdom.

“The ministry makes sure that all Filipinos sent to the Kingdom conform to the Saudi Ministry of Labor’s regulations in terms of health status and qualifications. The ministries of labor of the two countries meet on an annual basis to discuss and improve the recruitment processes between the two countries,” said Tago.

He added there are 720,000 Filipino and Filipina expatriates in the Kingdom and 50,000 visas were issued to OFWs in 2014.