Senate Majority Leader, Joel Villanueva is calling for a thorough review of the agreement on labor between the Philippines and Kuwait, due to the growing number of reported abuses faced by Filipino migrant workers in the Gulf nation.
As examples, he mentioned the cases of Jullebee Ranara, an OFW in Kuwait who is said to have been murdered by her employer, and Myla Balbag, who reportedly jumped from the third floor of her employer’s home in an effort to escape.
Villanueva stated that after these two incidents, the policies in place must be reevaluated to determine their fairness and implementation and to establish clear guidelines for imposing and lifting a ban.
He has previously submitted Senate Resolution No. 456, which calls for the executive branch to endorse the International Labor Organization Convention No. 190, aimed at eliminating violence and harassment in the workplace.
“The brutal killing of Ranara happened even amid an existing Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippines and Kuwait on the kafala system, which lays down the obligations in the treatment and protection of foreign workers,” Villanueva said in a statement on Wednesday, February 8.
Villanueva emphasized the necessity of strengthening the government’s protection for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to put an end to abuse and violence in his resolution.
He wants to give OFWs assurance that the government is doing its best to ensure their protection and that their rights will not be violated.
The recent killing of Ranara has led to calls from lawmakers to once again halt the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait, however, Susan Ople, the head of the Department of Labor and Employment, does not see the need to reinstate a ban and believes that diplomacy is the key to resolving labor migration issues.
