An alliance of Filipino migrant rights group has urged the Philippine government to set up a shelter for distressed male overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, citing a sudden increase in the number of runaways compared to previous years.

In most of the Middle-Eastern countries, running away from sponsor-employer legally termed as absconding is considered a breach of the host countries internal immigration policy.

“It is quite alarming that the number of male distressed OFWs is growing unprecedentedly compared to previous years,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, in a statement.

According to Monterona their Riyadh-based KGS-Migrante welfare officers recently assisted three out of the 50 male distressed OFWs in filing formal complaints against their respective employers.

"They told us they have been victims of labor malpractices and abuses of their employer,” Monterona pointed out.