Bilateral agreement protecting OFWs in Kuwait finalized

HAINAN – A bilateral agreement that will protect Filipino workers in Kuwait has been finalized and is just awaiting President Duterte’s approval, the Department of Labor and Employment said. 

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Duterte may travel to Kuwait before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to witness the signing of the agreement. 

In a chance interview with reporters here last Tuesday, Bello said the signing of the memorandum of understanding should be done within the month because Kuwaiti officials may no longer be available during Ramadan. 

“I don’t know. It should be before Ramadan, within April,” Bello said when asked when the agreement would be signed. 

Last February, Duterte ordered a ban on sending overseas Filipino workers to Kuwait, citing the abuses suffered by some domestic helpers. 

The ban was announced following the discovery of the body of Filipina worker Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer inside her employer’s house in the Al Shaab district.

Duterte has demanded that certain conditions be included in the agreement, namely prohibiting the confiscation of workers’ passports, allowing them to sleep for seven hours, granting them days off and permitting them to cook their own food.