The benevolence of the House of Saud is legendary among Muslims. The Kingdom has continuing multi-programs that extend assistance to poor Muslims worldwide, reaching as far as the Philippines.
These relief projects are more pronounced during the Holy month of Ramadan when the Holy Koran obligates those who have more in life to share it with those who have less. This has long been institutionalized by the Kingdom. But to read about its humanitarian gesture extended to non-Muslims is news to many, albeit not surprising.
Last weekend, a whiff of relief swept thru some of the households of overseas Filipino workers. And no less than their President — Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. brought the good news. It was a front-page story in major dailies and became viral on social media.
According to the news, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Bangkok, Thailand where President Marcos Jr. and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman or MbS held a bilateral meeting, "the government of Saudi Arabia has committed to shoulder the unpaid salaries of around 10,000 OFWs displaced from construction companies that went bankrupt."
Recall that one of the resilient irritants in the relationship between the two countries is the nonpayment of salaries of workers. The report further quoted Secretary Susan Ople of the Migrant Workers Department who was with the President as saying that "the Saudi government has set aside a total of two billion riyals to settle the unpaid salaries from several companies."
The President added that the Saudi Labor Minister has assured him that this will not happen again because labor recruits will be insured and the insurance company will answer for unpaid wages should the employers get bankrupt.
Some observers see the magnanimity of the Kingdom as some kind of remorse, to compensate for its lackadaisical attitude, if not nonaction toward complaints lodged by OFWs (read my past immediate columns about abuses against OFWs). The President was quoted as saying that it was a gift from the Monarch for their first meeting. This gesture will go a long way in strengthening the cordial relationship between the two countries marred by the physical, mental and psychological abuses suffered by the OFWs in the hands of their employers.
Lately, observers saw the Kingdom go on public relation offensive. Human rights issues and the death of a Saudi turned-critic journo have faded. This was capped by the pronouncement of President Joe Biden that Mbs is immune from a suit being a head of government. Very few observers learned about the ascension of MbS as Prime Minister, a title unknown and incongruent in a Monarchial system of government. But it was a masterstroke. Now legally, as a head of government, he can claim immunity because of the law and practice long observed among United Nations members and Public International law.
But whatever, the visionary MbS is proving to be a genuine social and political reformer in the once-cloistered Saudi society, a norm expected of a conservative setting that houses the two Holy Mosques of Islam and the de facto capital of the world Muslims. He has initiated reform measures that are radical but not offensive to Islam. These were unthinkable before his reign.
Presently, the Kingdom under the tutelage of MbS is gradually opening its society to more practical and progressive ideas. As I have earlier pointed out in an earlier article, "In a world of constant change, MbS believes that the kingdom should not be ensnared in a quagmire of status quo — a recipe for stagnation."
We welcome the "gift of the Kingdom" to our President with the hope that more reforms will follow to ease the sufferings of our distressed OFWs. We don't wish to hear more tragic stories of a Sarah Balabagan, Flor Contemplacion, Joanna Demafilis, and many others.
amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com
