MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has partially lifted the ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Thursday.
This, after the Philippines and Kuwait agreed on the standard employment contract for Filipino household service workers.
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“The governing board of the [Philippine Overseas Employment Administration] came up with a resolution lifting the ban partially,” Bello said. The POEA has yet to release a copy of the resolution.
Skilled, semi-skilled and professional workers are now allowed to fly to the Gulf nation. Household service workers, however, are still covered by the prohibition.
Bello said the relaxation of the deployment ban is effective immediately.
A total deployment ban was enforced in January following the brutal killing of domestic helper Jeanelyn Villavende. She was physically tortured and sexually abused before she died in the hands of her employer in December 2019, autopsy report of the National Bureau of Investigation showed.
Bello earlier said Manila will only lift the total deployment ban once the Kuwaiti government provides official status report on the cases of Villavende and slain household workers Constancia Dayag and Joanna Demafelis. — Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from News5/Ria Fernandez