MANILA, Philippines — Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III will recommend to President Duterte the partial lifting of the deployment ban on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait after the Philippines and the Arab state finally signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to protect the workers.
The MOU, titled the “Agreement on Employment of Domestic Workers between the Government of the State of Kuwait and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines,” was signed last Friday.
The lifting of the ban would initially be only for skilled workers.
Bello was set to arrive last night from Kuwait.
The MOU covers the areas of responsibilities of the two nations, cooperation and settlement of disputes, among others. It would be in force for four years and will be renewed automatically unless either party gives notice of its termination six months prior to the end of validity.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the agreement, which he and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah forged, would strengthen the partnership between the two countries.
“With the signing of the agreement and the approval of the additional guarantees that we asked our Kuwaiti friends to extend, the more than 250,000 Filipinos in Kuwait can now be assured of prompt and effective assistance if needed,” he said.
The signing came weeks after the relationship of the two countries soured over a controversial rescue of a Filipino domestic helper, which Kuwait described as a violation of its sovereign rights.
It led to the expulsion of Philippine ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa and the arrest of the Filipino drivers who took part in the rescue. Some officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) were also reportedly holed up in the embassy due to existing arrest warrants against them.
Last week, the drivers were released by the Kuwaiti government, which also allowed embassy officials to go back to the Philippines.
The MOU outlines upholding ethical recruitment policies, systems and procedures for the recruitment and employment of Filipino domestic workers, among others.
The two parties also agreed to provide a mechanism of inspection and monitoring of the level of care offered to domestic workers through official authorities in Kuwait as well as reduce costs of recruitment of domestic workers.
Kuwait also agreed to guarantee the rights of domestic workers, including access to food, housing, clothing and registration in the health insurance system.
It also vowed to prohibit employers from keeping the passports and other identity documents of the domestic workers.
Filipino domestic workers will also be allowed to use their cellular phones to contact their families and the government, with the employers prohibited from confiscating the phones.
Meanwhile, the Philippines vowed to stop recruitment agencies from deducting from the salary of domestic workers any cost incurred for recruitment and deployment.
It also pledged to require all domestic workers to observe Kuwaiti laws, morals, ethics and customs while residing in the Gulf nation.
The Philippine embassy in Kuwait will also verify contracts signed by all parties and ensure that all newly-hired workers go through agencies licensed by the government.
A joint committee led by senior officials of the two countries will be formed to ensure the implementation of the agreement.
President Duterte ordered a total deployment ban to Kuwait earlier this year over reports of abuse of Filipino domestic workers, including Joanna Demafelis whose body was found in a freezer in an abandoned apartment.
According to Cayetano, it was Duterte who charted the course of the negotiations with the Kuwaiti government.
“The successful outcome of our engagement with Kuwait would not have been possible without the guidance of the President who made it clear since the start that in our negotiations, the well-being of Filipinos abroad should always be paramount,” he said.
Meanwhile, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte urged the government to implement job matching and “re-skilling” programs for returning OFWs and retrain them for job opportunities in the country.
He said the retraining programs, which could be part of the government’s solution to the problem on abused OFWs, should be offered because not everyone has the skills “to meet new job requirements under an economy fast embracing technological change.”
According to the latest reports, Kuwait has offered to shoulder the travel expenses of about 600 undocumented Filipino workers it has allowed to go back home.
“The assurances given by the government of Kuwait on maintaining the safety and rights of all its expatriate workers, including our OFWs, is a welcome development,” Villafuerte said.
Rep. Winnie Castelo of Quezon City also hailed the MOU signing, saying this “vindicated the tough actions of President Duterte who insisted on the security of our OFWs.”
Castelo urged the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment to continue the push for the signing of similar agreements with countries where there are large numbers of OFWs. – Janvic Mateo, Jess Diaz