Duterte on Kuwait abuse: OFWs can all go home

MANILA, Philippines — One more story of rape, and of the victim committing suicide because of the abuse, and Filipinos working in Kuwait “can all go home,” President Duterte said yesterday.

“I hope that you’d listen to me because I mean well,” Duterte said, addressing the Kuwaiti government and people. “I will never, never, never again tolerate one more incident of rape to the point of committing suicide, jumping out of the window – that is something the Filipino people cannot stomach.”

In a speech at the NAIA before leaving for New Delhi, India, he appealed to Kuwait: “Can I ask you now just to treat my countrymen as human beings with dignity? I do not want to fight with you. We need your help to improve our country.”

Duterte said he had directed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to “stop the processing” of Filipinos’ employment to Kuwait apparently when reports of abuses against Filipinos reached him.

“And I’m sorry, the Filipinos there, you can all go home. Tutal ‘pag… nag-alis kayo lahat na mga Pilipino diyan (Anyway if all of you Filipinos there leave), they will also be having a hell of a time adjusting to that,” he said.

DOLE earlier announced the suspension of OFWs’ deployment to Kuwait following the death of seven Filipinos. DOLE Administrative Order No 25-2018 covers both returning OFWs and new hires, Secretary Silvestre Bello III said.

Duterte said at least six Filipino women were driven to commit suicide due to abuses by their employers in Kuwait.

“Let me be blunt about this because Kuwait has always been an ally. But please do something about it and for all the other countries in the Middle East,” he said. 

Duterte lamented Filipinos had to endure rape, starvation, lack of sleep and long hours of work abroad for a pittance.  

Duterte said he was hoping he was not committing a diplomatic faux pas for making such pronouncements but he stressed the need to address these concerns or he would not have the right to stay in his position a minute longer.

The President noted the large number of skilled Filipino workers deployed in the Middle East and their contribution to the economy and that he could not allow these abuses to continue.

“We have been sending Filipinos, doctors and nurses to help you also and in return, helping us in the very much-needed revenues for their families here,” he said.

Duterte lamented how human rights groups were assailing him over his drug campaign but would not raise an alarm over the abuses against OFWs.

“We have almost six Filipinas dying, committing suicide, jumping out of the window. Mga p* – ni hindi lang man kayo pinansin niyan (These s* --- they did not pay any attention),” Duterte said.

“And in their countries, they’ve been raping and here we are, I’m dealing with criminals and you’re all noise. You can go to hell as a matter of fact,” he said.

While the country benefits from the remittances of OFWs from the Middle East, Duterte said he still wants every Filipino to raise their heads in dignity even while working abroad as he acknowledged their sacrifices.   

“As a matter of fact, the incomes there of the Filipinos contribute a lot to the GDP (gross domestic product) of the country. That is taken. (We have no question about that). You are of help,” he said. “But if it ends up with misery, rape and everything, and my countrymen committing suicide, well, there’s always a time” for reckoning.

“We are poor. We may need your help but we will not do it at the expense of the dignity of the Filipinos,” Duterte added.

Not too fast

In another development, acting Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Bernard Olalia said the government needs to conduct a thorough study before allowing the deployment of household workers to China in case Beijing lifts its restrictions.

Olalia made the statement in reaction to reports that China may soon grant work permit to Filipino HSWs employed by foreign executives.

“We have to form a technical working group to conduct a review. Not because they are allowing entry of HSWs we will already be sending our workers there,” Olalia said.

Olalia stressed the thorough review is necessary to ensure the protection of OFWs.

“We need to undertake a study to avoid problems that will eventually force our government to ban deployment,” Olalia said.

Olalia further explained that the Chinese government must first legislate or amend their existing laws to allow deployment of Filipino HSWs to Beijing.

Exiting laws in China, he said, restrict entry of foreign migrants.

But the Chinese new site ECNS reported last Tuesday that Beijing’s Commission of Commerce is considering proposal to allow foreign domestic helpers of foreign executives to stay for the duration of their contracts as long as their employers can provide guarantees.

Recruitment industry welcomed the news as it claimed that there is a growing demand for Filipino domestic helpers in China.