Duterte lifts ban on OFW deployment to Kuwait

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte ordered last night the lifting of the total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait in what can be seen as a major step in the normalization of relations marred by videotaped rescue operations conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Upon recommendation of Special Envoy to Kuwait Abdullah Mama-o, President Duterte tonight instructed Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello to totally lift the ban on deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque Jr said in a press statement.

Last Tuesday, the government lifted the deployment ban on skilled and semi-skilled workers.

In February, an angry Duterte ordered a total ban deployment ban over the reported abuses and deaths of Filipino workers in the oil-rich country.

The move also came following the discovery of the body of Filipino domestic worker Jhoanna Demafelis inside the freezer of her employers’ apartment.

Last week, Roque said the two countries agreed to move on from their row.

The Philippines and Kuwait signed last Friday an agreement that seeks to provide legal protection to and improve the working conditions of Filipino workers. Under the agreement, the two countries will work together to uphold ethical recruitment policies, systems, and procedures for the recruitment and employment of domestic workers subject to their laws and regulations.

The labor deal also requires employers to provide food, housing and clothing to their workers and to register domestic workers in Kuwait’s health insurance program. 

A diplomatic row ensued last month after videos showing Philippine embassy staff rescuing Filipinos from their employers in Kuwait surfaced in social networking sites. The rescue prompted the Kuwaiti government to expel Philippine Ambassador Pedro Villa. 

There are about 260,000 Filipino workers in Kuwait.