The Philippines introduced visa on arrival for Saudis in April last year to attract more tourists from the Kingdom.

Job recruiters warned against dealing with fraudulent brokers

Saudi Ambassador in Manila Abdullah Al-Basiri warned Saudi tourists against fraud attempts in the Philippines. He said that around 400 cases of fraud have affected Saudi tourists in one year only, where one victim was embezzled out of SR400,000, adding that the embassy was able to retrieve the money in some cases.

He said that recruitment brokers in Philippine offices hunt for Saudis looking for visas to recruit domestic workers and drivers. “They lure them so they can quickly provide them with the required number of visas,” Al-Basiri said. “After the transfer of money to the broker’s account, the latter disappears from the office, and changes numbers without meeting any of the conditions promised to the Saudi client.”

He said that those who are dealing with fraudulent brokers are breaking the recruitment agreement signed between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines, which limits the recruitment process to Saudi offices.

He clarified that many people still make this mistake despite multiple warnings from the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs on their websites.

The ambassador called on Saudi tourists traveling to the Philippines to stay away from suspicious places dealing with drugs and employing minor girls in immoral acts, which might put the tourist at risk of imprisonment for life.

He said that the embassy’s field teams allowed them to protect Saudis before its too late, adding that there are no Saudi prisoners in the Philippines currently.

The ambassador denied news by the Philippine Health Ministry that a Saudi citizen died of coronavirus. He said that the 57-year-old citizen traveled to the Philippines for tourism, and died Tuesday after a heart attack, according to the hospital’s report that he reviewed. He pointed out that the body was transferred to Jeddah the following day.

He explained that five Saudis were suspected of being infected with coronavirus but were later proved to be free of the illness.

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