KHOBAR/RIYADH: Philippine Vice President Jejomar C. Binay will arrive in Riyadh Friday to discuss labor and economic issues and look into the conditions of Filipino workers in the Kingdom. He will travel to Jeddah on April 3. The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh said Binay will meet representatives of Filipino community organizations and schools at a dinner to be hosted by Charge d' Affaires Ezzedin H. Tago to be held at the Philippine chancery at the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh. Binay is also Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Concerns, and his visit to Saudi Arabia indicates his profound concern with the welfare of the 1.5 million OFWs in the Kingdom, according to an embassy statement. His visit is expected to further cement stronger and closer ties between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines, particularly on the protection and advancement of the welfare of Filipino workers. After the dinner, a dialogue with community leaders from Riyadh and the Eastern Province will follow. Binay is not scheduled to visit the Eastern Province, and the OFW delegation from the Eastern Province, to be led by labor attaché David Des T. Dicang, will travel to Riyadh to meet the vice president. Binay is also expected to discuss the conditions of Filipinos who are in jail, as well as the kind of assistance being extended to OFWs being sheltered at the Bahay Kalinga in Riyadh and those housed at the Saudi social center in Dammam. He will also address the problem regarding the deployment of household service workers in the Kingdom.
