SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Monday that his cousin the President’s trip to Saudi Arabia last week will be generating over 200,000 jobs for Filipinos.
“This visit reaffirms the commitment of our government to support and protect the rights and welfare of our overseas Filipino workers, who have played a pivotal role in enhancing the lives of their families and the entire nation,” Mr. Romualdez said in a statement.
He said one of the major agreements signed was a $3.77-billion deal made was between the Association of Philippine Licensed Agencies for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-based Al-Jeer Human Resources Company (ARCO).
He said that the job opportunities would help Saudi Arabia diversify its economy, improve infrastructure, advance digitalization, and create competitive business environments, also known as Saudi Vision 2030.
Mr. Marcos’ trip to Riyadh last week with Saudi business leaders at the 2023 ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit brought in $4.2 billion in investment pledges.
He added that Saudi business leaders expressed “keen interest” in the Maharlika Investment Fund, which Mr. Marcos said was operational by yearend despite suspension of its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for further study.
Filipino firm EEI Corp. also signed an agreement valued at $120 million with Al Rushaid Petroleum Investment Company & Samsung Engineering NEC Co. Ltd., which will establish a 500-person construction training facility in Tanza, Cavite, which is 43.6 km away from the capital region.
The House leader said that the facility will train Filipinos’ skills in masonry, carpentry, electrical, welding, equipment management, warehousing, and steel fabrication beginning next year and will train more than 15,000 in the next five years.
Two separate agreements with an estimated worth of $191 million was also signed between Maharah Human Resources Company of Saudi and Filipino firms Staffhouse International Resources Corporation and E-GMP International Corporation.
The agreements aim to onboard 10,000 Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia yearly until 2030.
Mr. Romualdez said that the President’s meeting with Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal last week could resolve labor issues between the two countries.
“This encounter brings hope for the restoration of diplomatic relations between our two nations, which had previously been strained due to labor issues and the need to protect the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers,” he said in a separate statement on Sunday.
Mr. Marcos at the weekend said that the ban on the deployment of Filipino first-time household workers to Kuwait would end soon.
The ban was enforced after the murder of OFW Jullebee Ranara, who was reportedly abused and killed brutally, then left in a desert by the 17-year-old son of her employer in January. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
