President Rodrigo Duterte said he is willing to lift the deployment ban to Kuwait following the signing of a labor agreement that will protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Gulf state.
These were the words of Duterte during his speech in Marawi City on Friday, May 11, after he learned from Special Envoy to Kuwait Abdullah Mama-o that his personal demands geared towards protecting OFWs were included in the labor agreement.
“Papayag ako i-lift ang ban,” Duterte said.
The president, however, did not clarify if he was talking about complete or partial lifting of the deployment ban to Kuwait.
“Kung nandiyan lahat ‘yan, sabi ko ‘okay ako.’” Duterte said. “Tumawag kanina si Dabs [Mama-o], sabi niya, ‘mukhang okay na. Naipasok na lahat.’ Sabi ko, ‘Sige. Magpirma kayo diyan. Hindi na ako pupunta. Balang araw,’ sabi ko,” Duterte stated.
These demands include providing OFWs at least one day off per week, the assurance that workers will be entitled to 8 hours of sleep daily, protection from physical abuse, and the non-confiscation of their passports.
Meanwhile, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement that only the ban on skilled and semi-skilled workers will be lifted but not the one covering domestic workers.
Duterte issued the ban following the death of OFW Joanna Demafelis whose body was found stuffed inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait.
