DAMMAM: A total of 31 female and six male overstaying Filipinos were apprehended last week by police in the Eastern Province as part of the Ministry of Interior's intensive drive to flush out illegal workers. They are in detention at the Eastern Province Deportation Office and the Social Welfare Center while their papers for repatriation are being processed, according to officials of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. Two of the 31 female workers are mothers with children born in the Kingdom. They were arrested in locations in Al-Khobar and Dammam. POLO officials said the detained males, females and their children are being treated well by the authorities. Most of the 31 arrested females are runaway housemaids and beauticians. Their arrest has also encouraged two overstaying female workers, one with two children and the other with one child, to voluntarily surrender this weekend to the police. The two mothers, whose children were also born here, were released by the police and their identities recorded for future deportation. POLO officials informed Saudi Gazette that they are now cooperating with the authorities to facilitate the deportation of the detained Filipinos. “Because the children of the arrested mothers are undocumented, we are now closely working with police authorities to provide the necessary support to expedite their deportation with their parents,” a POLO official said. He said he expects more overstaying and illegal Filipinos to surface and surrender to the police. A number of overstaying Filipinos who were arrested and temporarily detained have already been repatriated with air tickets and other expenses provided by the Saudi government. The POLO official said the recent deportation of some Filipinos at the expense of the government and the current drive to flush out overstaying workers could be part of the implementation of the amnesty for overstayers announced in September. The Saudi Interior Ministry announced in September that the amnesty would be granted to those who arrived in the Kingdom on Haj, Umrah, or any other type of visa which had expired, or violated Passport Department regulations. However, the announcement did not specify whether the amnesty covered runaway maids and other overstayers whose work permits have expired. The amnesty is from Sept. 25 this year to March 23, 2011.
