Rescue of distressed OFWs in Kuwait
The body of Filipina migrant worker Jeanelyn Villavende showed clear indications of sexual abuse, an NBI autopsy shows.
The autopsy was conducted last January 10 by the chief of the NBI medico-legal division, Dr. Ricardo Rodaje, in Cotabato, near the deceased’s residence.
There were also old healed wounds indicating that Villavende had been battered weeks prior to her death. A formal report will be submitted to the justice secretary tomorrow.
Philippine and Kuwaiti officials continue talks for better treatment of overseas Filipino workers deployed to Kuwait, the Palace says.
According to The STAR, quoting presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, Kuwait's development of a model contract for migrant workers was discussed.
"Under the model contract, workers would enjoy the following: one day off, a 12-hour sleep or rest period, protection from physical abuse, and the right to a decent meal," The STAR reports Roque as saying.
"During the meeting with Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister H.E. Al-Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah, Roque said the PH team was assured that the release of the 3 Pinoy diplomats are now being worked out with the Interior Ministry. The diplomats are expected to be released in 2-3 days," The STAR also reports.
Officials of the Philippines and Kuwait have met on a memorandum of agreement for "normalization of ties", The STAR reports.
According to a press statement from the Office of the Presidential Spokesman, the agreemenr will be signed "as Kuwait expresses its value of Filipinos in the Gulf state."
The Palace also says Kuwait has agreed to create a special unit within the police that the embassy can liaison with to address concerns of Filipinos.
Four Filipino drivers involved in a "rescue" of distressed OFWs and who were later arrested have also been released by Kuwait authorities, the Palace says.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirms that Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh has left the country after being recalled to his capital for consultations.
"The Department served a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Kuwait conveying its strong surprise and great displeasure over the declaration of Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa as persona non grata; the continued detention of four Filipinos hired by the Philippine Embassy; and the issuance of arrest warrants against three diplomatic personnel," the DFA said.
Kuwait on Wednesday gave a one-week deadline for the Philippines ambassador to leave the small, oil-rich Gulf Arab nation over a growing diplomatic dispute regarding the abuse of Filipina housemaids and workers in the country, the Associated Press reports.
Kuwait also recalled its own ambassador from Manila over the row, according to a bulletin on the state-run KUNA news agency.
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