Philippines signs MOA for domestic workers with Kuwait

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Kuwait have signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the Employment of Domestic Workers which is expected to improve working conditions of Filipino household helpers.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah met Friday in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kuwait to sign the agreement.

Diplomatic relations between Philippines and Kuwait were strained in the past weeks following several incidents of abuses or deaths of Filipinos working as domestic helpers.

President Rodrigo Duterte banned the deployment of Filipinos to Kuwait due to the reported abuses of employers.

Personnel of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait conducted "rescue" missions of distressed Filipinos and recorded the operations on video which were later released to the public.

Kuwait officials took offense and declared Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa as persona non grata and also recalled their Ambassador in the Philippines.

Among the agreements that will be included in the MOA is for Filipino domestic helpers to be given proper food, be allowed to use cellular phones and for their passports to be deposited at the Philippine embassy for safekeeping instead of being kept by their employers.

Several arrested personnel involved in the "rescue" of the Philippine Embassy have been released by the Kuwait government after negotiations.

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