Press Release No. 2010/005

Date: 3 February 2010

The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah reiterates its warning to the public not to believe rumors that overstayers can leave the Kingdom through a “backdoor” in Jeddah, or to believe anyone who claims that they can assist or facilitate departure out of the Kingdom through contacts at the Passports Department or Jawazat.

The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah recently received the complaints of 9 Filipinos who came to Jeddah from different cities.  They claimed in a signed and notarized affidavit that a certain Amer Cruz said he had a contact named Arnold Garcia who has friends in Jawazat [or the passports department] that can facilitate the repatriation of the 9 Filipinos without going through deportation procedures for a fee of SR3000 for each Filipino.

The 9 filipinos paid amounts ranging from 1500 to 2500 Saudi Riyals each to Amer Cruz.  Unfortunately, after taking the money, Arnold Garcia and Arnel Alcantara could no longer be contacted.  They recently saw this person in Corniche mall but he avoided them and left.  The total amount that the fixers took from the 9 Filipinos totaled SR24,500.

The 9 filipinos have discovered that the true identity of this Arnold Garcia is ARNULFO SANDOVAL MANONGDO, with an iqama issued in Riyadh under the sponsorship of Al-Safari limited and his occupation in his iqama is window cleaner.

The Consulate noted that many of the “fixers” claim they have strong contacts in the Consulate or Jawazat.  Some Filipino victims have reported that they have dealt with “fixers” at Sarawat or Corniche mall.

The Consulate strongly urges all Filipinos not to deal with such personalities, and to deal directly with the Consulate’s Labor Section or Assistance to Nationals Section within the premises of the Consulate building at Rehab District.  If anyone claims to work with the Consulate, we urge you to demand to see his iqama or ID issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Philippine Consulate General reiterates that it has not received any official statement or advice from the Saudi Government on the possibility of  amnesty for overstayers, absconding workers, and violators of the iqama and residency rules of the Kingdom.

In a statement published in the Saudi Gazette issue of 20 January 2010, Brig. Gen. Salem Bakheet Al-Zahrani, Director of Passports Department in Makkah Region, said that:

• “There is no move to provide residential permits to overstayers.  These are only rumors, there is no substance to it.”
• Al-Zahrani warned that overstayers should go back to their countries at the earliest or face penalties and jail sentences.
• Al-Zahrani said fingerprinting and eye-scanning systems are working well and have greatly reduced the problem of overstaying.

The Consulate urges all Filipinos and community organizations to advise their friends and relatives on this matter.