Filipinos in Saudi Arabia are either migrants or descendants of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

living in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

. Saudi Arabia is currently the largest hirer of

Overseas Filipino Workers Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...

(OFWs), and has the largest Filipino population in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Filipinos make up the fourth-largest group of foreigners in Saudi Arabia, and are the second-largest source of

remittances A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes with ...

to the Philippines.

Migration history

Filipinos first arrived in Saudi Arabia in 1973, when a group of Filipino engineers migrated to the country. Today, staff at the Saudi Arabian embassy in the Philippines process between 800 and 900 jobs for Filipinos daily. In 2008, Saudi Arabia had 300,000 job orders for Filipinos. Later, in the first time hiring Filipino medical professionals, Saudi Arabia announced intentions to hire 6,000 Filipinos as doctors and nurses between 2009 and 2011. In addition to medical professionals, Filipinos work as automotive workers, construction workers, and engineers, as well as in the fields of

desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Salt ...

, petroleum production and processing, telecommunications, and transportation.

Labor issues

Every year, an unknown number of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia are "victims of sexual abuses, maltreatment, unpaid salaries, and other labor malpractices," according to John Leonard Monterona, the Middle East coordinator of Migrante, a

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

-based OFW organization. Some Filipinos are attracted and transported to Saudi Arabia illegally, where they are left stranded without work. Between January and August 2008, approximately 800 throughout the country sought help at Migrante chapters, and 922 others were deported to the Philippines in the first three months of 2008 after overstaying their visa requirements. At one point in early 2008, 103 Filipinos stranded in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

lived in a tent camp under a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

before being able to be processed for deportation.

Education

As of February 2006 about 75% of the Philippine international schools represented by the

Commission on Filipinos Overseas The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) ( fil, Komisyon para sa mga Pilipino sa Ibayong Dagat, KPID) is an agency of the government of the Philippines under the Office of the President of the Philippines. CFO was established on June 16, 1980 ...

(CFO) were located in Saudi Arabia. Community-owned Philippine schools, including the International Philippine School in Al Khobar (IPSA), the

International Philippine School in Jeddah International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ; ar, المدرسة الفلبينية العالمية بجدة) is a Philippine international school in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It serves levels pre-elementary through senior high school. As of 2005 ...

(IPSJ), and International Philippine School in Riyadh (IPSR), were by 2006 managed by independent school boards but were initially managed by the diplomatic missions themselves.Regis, Czarina Valerie A. and Allan B. de Guzman.
A system within a system: the Philippine schools overseas
" ''Educational Research for Policy and Practice''. July 2006, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp 175-183. Published online on September 9, 2006. CITED: p. 177. As of 2006 Riyadh has 13 Philippine private schools and Jeddah has 5 Philippine private schools.Regis, Czarina Valerie A. and Allan B. de Guzman.
A system within a system: the Philippine schools overseas
" ''Educational Research for Policy and Practice''. July 2006, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp 175-183. Published online on September 9, 2006. CITED: p. 180. Large numbers of Philippine children came to Saudi after many Filipino workers arrived in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. The first Philippine school in Saudi Arabia,

Philippine School in Jeddah International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ; ar, المدرسة الفلبينية العالمية بجدة) is a Philippine international school in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It serves levels pre-elementary through senior high school. As of 2005 ...

was established after the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah began making efforts to start a school in 1983, and Philippine schools were later established in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the ...

and other Saudi cities. In 2000 Saudi Arabia had nine accredited Philippine schools. By 2005 Jeddah alone had four Philippine international schools, with two more scheduled to open shortly.Salud, Francis R.
2 More Filipino Schools to Open in Jeddah
(). ''

Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats. At least as o ...

''. Thursday 7 March 2005. Retrieved on 5 November 2015. By 2006 there were 21 Philippine schools recognized by the CFO, reflecting a 133% growth rate from 2000. Community international schools in Saudi Arabia are not required to separate male and female students into separate campuses and are allowed to host social activities with men and women mixed.Regis, Czarina Valerie A. and Allan B. de Guzman.
A system within a system: the Philippine schools overseas
" ''Educational Research for Policy and Practice''. July 2006, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp 175-183. Published online on September 9, 2006. CITED: p. 178. Regis and Guzman stated that in private Philippine international schools, unlike in the community schools, many Saudi rules that are not consistent with the

culture of the Philippines The culture of the Philippines is characterized by cultural diversity. Although the multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipino national identity, their cultures were all shaped by the ...

are enforced.Regis, Czarina Valerie A. and Allan B. de Guzman.
A system within a system: the Philippine schools overseas
" ''Educational Research for Policy and Practice''. July 2006, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp 175-183. Published online on September 9, 2006. CITED: p. 181.

Recreation and sports

The Filipino (Muslim) community has organized recreation and sometimes tournaments, to meet with fellow friends, relatives and fellow Filipinos. List of sports:

Notable people

Ramiele Malubay Ramiele Macrohon Malubay (born September 6, 1987), also known as Ramiele, is a Filipino- American singer and the ninth place finalist on the seventh season of the television series ''American Idol.'' Biography Ramiele Macrohon Malubay was bo ...

* Margaret Nales Wilson

References

{{Overseas Filipinos

Ethnic groups in Saudi Arabia Philippines–Saudi Arabia relations Ethnic groups in the Middle East