The Philippines and Saudi Arabia might discuss the settlement of unpaid salaries for more than 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in a bilateral meeting between the two countries.

Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said this in a Palace Briefing as President Ferdinand Marcos will go to Saudi Arabia this week.

"That is on the agenda," Espiritu said when asked if the President will follow up on the issue.

However, Espiritu declined to give further details as the matter is still under discussion.

"I can't give the details yet because these matters are still under discussion," he said.

The issue of unpaid salaries of OFWs in Saudi Arabia has been a long-standing one, but the Philippine government has been working with the Saudi government to resolve the issue.

In November of the previous year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pledged to set aside around 2 billion riyals to address the outstanding salaries of approximately 10,000 OFWs whom construction companies had employed that went bankrupt in the years 2015 and 2016.

Former Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople had previously reported that the Saudi Labor Secretary had assured them of a commitment to resolve the matter and, at long last, compensate the OFWs for their unpaid wages.