RP Embassy in Saudi quizzes OFW ‘blood trade’ report

The Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia questioned the veracity of reports that many undocumented Filipinos had been selling blood in Saudi Arabia to survive, saying only legal workers are allowed to do so as residence permits must be presented before the procedure is permitted.

However, the embassy was quick to point out that it is willing to provide assistance to distressed workers.

“Based on the embassy’s own experience and knowledge, only those with valid residence permits (or iqamas) could donate blood to several designated blood banks, usually to Saudi government hospitals,” the embassy said in a statement.

The residence permit has to be presented to the hospital before an individual cold proceed with his donation.

Last month lbor group Migrante Middle East reported an increasing trend in undocumented Filipino workers in Kingdom donating blood in exchange for money for their daily subsistence and enable them to send money to their families in the Philippines. Migrante-ME said there is an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 undocumented Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia.

In the past, the embassy said it had initiated campaigns where Filipinos donated blood to various Saudi government hospitals but not for monetary reasons.

There have also been cases, it added, where embassy personnel donated blood to Filipino workers who were in dire need of it and they were also required to present their residence permits despite their status as diplomats.

“The Filipino community in the Kingdom is also aware of these requirements as various Filipino organizations have also conducted their own blood donation drives with the knowledge and participation of not only the embassy, but also instrumentalities of the host government,” it said.

However, the embassy urged irregular Filipino workers in Saudi to contact the embassy about their concerns, saying “it would continue to render all possible forms of assistance” to them “in accordance with the laws and regulations of both the Philippines and of Saudi Arabia.”

The embassy added it “would not waver in its commitment to secure and promote their welfare.”

The Philippines is one of the top labor-sending states in the world with at least eight million working in the skilled and unskilled sectors across the globe, earning more than they could in the country gripped by widespread poverty and a stagnant job market. –Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune