Saudi- 15,000 Filipino maids 'only an expectation'

(MENAFN- Arab News) The Philippine Embassy said this week that the 15,000 Filipino maids reportedly being deployed in the Kingdom by the end of this year remains only an expectation until they actually arrive. "The number is too big, considering the procedure in processing the papers of maids being deployed to work overseas," Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago told Arab News on Monday. Former Labor Attache Adam A. Musa had reportedly told an Arabic language daily newspaper that 15,000 maids are expected to arrive by the end of this year. Musa has been recalled to the home office as his tour of duty in the Kingdom has ended. The report also said that 1,500 maids had already arrived, but the Filipino envoy said this needs to be confirmed. The report also said that the Saudi authorities had agreed to pay $500 per month for working 48 hours per week. The Filipino envoy said that considering the verification procedure that resumed after the Kingdom and the Philippines signed a new bilateral agreement, the reported number is too big. "Aside from the verification procedure which undergoes certain stages, there's also the problem of availability of maids for deployment," he said. POLO-Jeddah Labor Attache Alex Padaen, who has been reportedly appointed by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapiliz-Baldos to replace Musa, could not be contacted for comment. If and when Padaen finally takes over at the POLO-Riyadh, Jainal Rasul will be sent from the home office to replace Padaen in POLO-Jeddah. Rasul, also a lawyer, has earlier been assigned in Riyadh. Padaen will also be probably the labor attache for the Central and Eastern regions.