Following the reported deaths of Filipinos working in Kuwait, the Philippine government announced yesterday that it will ban the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to the Middle Eastern country.
The decision, as instructed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, was made official by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III during a press conference.
“Pursuant to that directive of the president, we will be issuing an administrative order, to totally ban deployment of our OFWs to Kuwait,” he said.
DOLE suspended deployments to Kuwait late last month after the death of seven Filipinos working there.
Bello said then that the suspension could be lifted if investigations show that the deaths were not caused by employers, but the death of another Filipino that came to light last week was enough to push the government over the edge and declare a total ban.
On Wednesday, the body of a Filipino domestic worker identified as Joanna Daniela Demafelis was found inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait. According to GMA News, a domestic worker who knew Demafelis said that the victim was allegedly abused by her employers.
About 400 Filipinos returned to the Philippines from Kuwait yesterday as the first batch of repatriated OFWs. Many had been living in Kuwait illegally but were granted amnesty by the Kuwait government.
Based on the latest data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Kuwait is part of the top 10 destinations for OFWs, with 86,019 working there in 2015. This means the ban will leave many OFWs without a country to go to, but DOLE said it is considering redeploying them to China or Russia instead.
However, some think China might not be so welcoming.
In an interview with the ABS-CBN news program Bandila last night, Ellene Sana, executive director of Center for Migrant Advocacy said the ongoing rivalry between Filipino and mainland Chinese domestic workers won’t be good for Filipinos who will be sent there.
“There was a time local Chinese weren’t so nice [to Filipinos] because [they probably thought], ‘Why do we even have to compete with these people.’ So I don’t think that it will be the solution,” she said in Filipino and English.
Filipino and mainland Chinese domestic workers usually compete for jobs in Hong Kong and Macau.
The Palace also said that repatriated OFWs will receive financial assistance worth a total of PHP25,000 (US$481.80). According to Bello, more than 2,000 Filipinos in Kuwait want to go home.
