Duterte meets with Saudi king for talks on Filipinos working in the kingdom

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met on Tuesday with King Salman in Saudi Arabia, where hundreds of thousands of Filipinos work as nurses, domestic helpers, drivers, waiters and technicians. It was Duterte’s first time meeting with the Saudi king.

Philippine media outlets report that the Middle East is the second largest source of remittances, with Filipinos sending back home some US$7.5 billion in wages from the region last year. Local media report there are 760,000 Filipino workers living in Saudi Arabia, though that figure could be higher.

Before embarking on his weeklong tour of the Gulf, which includes stops in Qatar and Bahrain next, Duterte said the region is home to the largest group of Filipinos working overseas. More than 1 million Filipinos reside and work in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Hundreds of thousands also work in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait.

The official Saudi Press Agency reported that Salman hosted Duterte for lunch in the capital, Riyadh, and that the two sides signed a number of memorandums, including some dealing with labour. The report did not disclose further details about the memorandums signed.

A slide in oil prices has impacted Saudi government spending and the revenue of Saudi companies relying on state-backed infrastructure projects. This has left tens of thousands of Filipinos and South Asian labourers without pay and, in many cases, without airfare or exit permits to return home.