President Rodrigo Duterte has confirmed that he will fly to Kuwait to witness the signing of the agreement that seeks to protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Gulf state.
Duterte announced he has decided to do so after Kuwaiti authorities agreed to comply with his personal demands during his speech before thousands of OFWs in Hong Kong on Thursday, April 12.
These demands include providing OFWs at least one day off per week, the assurance that workers will be entitled to 7 hours of sleep daily and the non-confiscation of their passports.
“I think to give honor also to the Kuwaiti government, I will go there for the signing, just to witness it. Fly in, fly out lang ako,” Duterte said before OFWs in Hong Kong.
In February, the body of OFW Joanna Demafelis was discovered stuffed inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait.
This, aside from the multiple reports of abuse towards OFWs in Kuwait, prompted the Philippine government to impose a deployment ban to the Gulf state.
One of the demands of the Philippine government to lift the ban is the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) that aims to protect the welfare of OFWs.
Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III said the MOU has been finalized and only requires formal signing before it becomes effective. He has also earlier said that the MOU is expected to be signed before the Ramadan season.
