Kuwait denies inhumane treatment of Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines — A top official of the Kuwaiti government has denied allegations of President Duterte that Filipinos are being treated inhumanely in Kuwait.

In a report by state-run Kuwait News Agency, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah expressed regret over the remarks made by Duterte regarding the situation of Filipinos in Kuwait.

He said their foreign ministry has asked Philippine authorities to provide evidence on the supposed inhumane treatment of Filipinos, but they have yet to produce any.

“The huge expatriate community in Kuwait, including nearly 276,000 from the Philippines, testifies to the care and stability enjoyed by the expats,” Al-Jarallah was quoted as saying before the weekend.

“The Filipino workers enjoy comfortable conditions that guarantee their rights regardless of recent unjustifiable fuss,” he added.

The “unjustifiable fuss” was apparently in reference to threats made by Duterte calling on Filipinos to leave Kuwait following reports of abuses, some of which have reportedly resulted in suicides.

“I’m sorry. The Filipinos there, you can all go home. If you all get out of Kuwait, they will also be having a hell of a time adjusting there,” Duterte said.

“One more incident about a woman, a Filipina being raped there, I’m going to stop, I’m going to ban,” he said.

Al-Jarallah maintained that Kuwait’s present law is modern and has won praise from the international community. He also noted the recent review of its human rights situation, which noted that the present law addresses issues of expatriates in a transparent way.

The Kuwaiti official also maintained that countries with large communities in the country are informed of how their nationals are held in high esteem and are being taken care of in their country.

He said there are no plans to suspend the residency permits of Filipino workers following Duterte’s remarks.

Meanwhile, Sen. Loren Legarda said yesterday that the budget of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for programs for underemployed and displaced workers was nearly tripled in the 2018 national budget.

Legarda, who chairs the Senate committee on finance, was referring to the DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disavantaged/Displaced (TUPAD) Workers Program, which is expected to benefit more unemployed workers this year.

She said the 2018 budget for the program is P1.604 billion or nearly three times higher than the P531 million allocated for it last year.

TUPAD is a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers, for a minimum period of 10 days, but not to exceed a maximum of 30 days, depending on the nature of work to be performed.

“We ensured increased funding for the TUPAD program of DOLE because it helps cushion the effects of unemployment, especially for laid-off or retrenched workers, as well as for self-employed workers whose livelihoods have been damaged by disasters and other crises,” Legarda said.– With Paolo Romero