President Rodrigo Duterte arrived Monday night in Saudi Arabia, where economic troubles forced the repatriation of thousands of his citizens still waiting for their salaries.
Filipino organizations in the Gulf kingdom, which still hosts almost 800,000 workers from the Southeast Asian nation, said the unpaid wages will be on the agenda when they meet Duterte during his two-day Riyadh stop.
The President has also vowed to “bring home” Filipinos who succeed in their bid to obtain amnesty under the Saudi government’s program for illegal aliens and get final clearance to exit Saudi Arabia.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella made this clarification Tuesday, as Duterte’s state visit entered its second day and he met with Saudi King Salman.
Duterte was earlier quoted saying he might be able to bring home some of the Filipinos on Saudi death row.
The OFWs on death row are also not on the agenda of the meeting of Duterte with King Salman, scheduled Tuesday afternoon. Only five people on Duterte’s delegation were allowed inside the meeting with the King.
Meanwhile, Duterte was well received by the Saudi royals, who admire his decisive leadership and political will, according to Abella.
This, Abella said, is precisely one of the reasons Duterte was invited to Saudi Arabia.
