Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he has personal demands that have to be included before the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippines and Kuwait.
During the graduation rites of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) “Maragtas” Class of 2018, Duterte explained some of his demands that he discussed with Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III.
Included in the final draft of the Philippine demands in the deal are 7-hour sleep for household service workers (HSWs), nutritious food, and observation of holidays.
“I demanded that it will be a contract of government to government and that there will be some mandatory provisions like they should be allowed to sleep for 7 hours a day, fed nutritious food. We will not allow leftovers to be eaten by our countrymen,” Duterte said.
“I have said that we are not slaves. Maybe our only fault is that we are poor.”
Duterte and Bello finalized the demands that will be included in the final draft of the MOU which is expected to be signed in two weeks.
The meeting between the two countries started in Kuwait and ended in the Philippines on Friday, March 16.
The MOU aims to ensure that rights of OFWs are protected. The two countries decided to draft a version following the imposition of deployment ban of OFWs to Kuwait after the body of Joanna Demafelis was discovered stuffed inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in the Gulf state.
