Press Release No. 14-2018
PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL IN JEDDAH STRENGTHENS INTEGRATION OF ASSISTANCE-TO-NATIONALS AND CONSULAR SERVICES DURING THE CONSULAR MOBILE MISSION IN SOUTHWEST ARABIA
(Jeddah, 31 March 2018) – The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah successfully rendered a full range of services to Filipinos in Khamis Mushayt in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia during its 4th Consular Mobile Services (CMS) in 2018 at the Mushayt Palace Hotel on 29 to 31 March 2018.
The CMS team, led by Consul General Edgar B. Badajos, included representatives from the Consulate’s Assistance-to-Nationals and Consular sections, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), PAG-IBIG, and Social Security Services (SSS).
In the course of the three (3) day event, the Consular Team brought passport, civil registration, authentication, and notarial services closer to the people of Khamis Mushayt and the neighboring areas. The Asir Region is roughly 650 kilometers away from Jeddah and is home to about 23,430 Filipinos, the third (3rd) largest Filipino population in the western region of Saudi Arabia. This makes it imperative to bring a full range of Consulate services to fellow Filipinos in the area. Also part of the services rendered was the registration of new overseas voters in preparation for the 2019 national elections.
Consulate personnel encodes the information of applicants for overseas voting.
The Consulate also strengthened the integration of Assistance to Nationals (ATN) services with the CMS. Consul General Badajos and Vice Consul Alexander Joseph A. Estomo explained to the applicants present the services offered by the Consulate’s ATN Section (ANS) and informed them of its pertinent contact details. Consul General Badajos further explained that incorporating the ATN component in every CMS would ensure that valuable information and assistance can be provided to both actual and potential ATN cases on site to eliminate, or at least minimize, the need for the concerned OFWs to take the costly travel to Jeddah. Case in point was the immediate rescue of a female OFW whose employer attempted to rape her. An OFW advocate provided the Consulate with vital information which allowed the ATN team to coordinate with the Khamis Mushayt police for the successful rescue of the female OFW.
Vice Consul Alexander Joseph Estomo, Head of the ANS, shares with applicants
the services rendered by the Consulate’s Assistance to Nationals Section.
Aside from engaging Filipino clients, the Consulate, through the initiative of the Social Welfare Attache, Mrs. Priscilla N. Razon, conducted interview/dialogue sessions with employers who accompanied their household service workers to the CMS venue. The Consulate intends to make this a permanent feature of its consular mobile services and to integrate it to the daily operations of the Social Welfare Attache in Jeddah.
Despite the challenges posed by changes in the economic, fiscal, and labor policies of the Kingdom, the presence of Filipinos in the Asir Region remains robust and vibrant. In order to maintain, if not improve, the quality of life of Filipinos in the area, the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, with the able assistance of the well-organized Filipino community groups in the Asir Region, commits to faithfully fulfilling its obligation to advance the interests of Filipinos living and working in this part of the Kingdom.
The next CMS will be in Tabuk at the Al-Hamdan Hotel on 13 to 14 April 2018. Those who wish to join may contact Mr. Roger Mendoza through +966 50 238 5325. END
