The Philippine government is willing to lift the deployment ban for newly hired domestic helpers to Kuwait if the Middle Eastern country can assure the protection of overseas Filipino workers or OFWs and allow shelters at the Philippine Embassy.
Undersecretary Eduardo Vega of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Undersecretary Hans Cacdac of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) made the remarks when asked by lawmakers on what are their non-negotiables in their discussions.
“The non-negotiables are: our shelter for OFWs have to remain here, as it is in the law passed by Congress. We will look at how we can reach a compromise on that. There also has to be justice for Jullebee Ranara, and improvement on the conditions of our workers,” De Vega told lawmakers.
“We will not compromise the protection of our workers,” the DFA official added. Cacdac also echoed the statements of De Vega.
“Wala na dapat masaktan, mahalay, mabugbog o mamatay na Pilipino sa kamay ng kanilang employer. There should be provision to prevent abuses and address abuses if it happens, such as access to justice and reforms on employment contracts,” Cacdac said.
“The repatriation [of OFWs] should also be facilitated promptly, and justice in terms of labor and criminal law should also be delivered more swiftly,” Cacdac added.
The visa suspension for Filipinos could also be considered as a response from the Kuwait government.
“It could be because we are operating shelters because we have to put it there because it is under the law. That is non-negotiable. It could be also because of a news article there stating that deployment should run through POEA. Maybe they thought we are imposing new conditions but we are not. These have to be clarified,” De Vega said.
“I won’t call it a retaliation because I don’t want to use provocative language. I would call it a response to a message to lift the ban as soon as possible. If you don’t want to send household workers, then don’t send anyone. We will use diplomacy [to resolve this], but not at the expense of our national pride, as well as the honor and safety of our workers,” he added.
