PHL ENVOY SUMMONED: Kuwait seeks lifting of OFW deployment suspension



The Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait was summoned by the Kuwaiti foreign affairs ministry over the Philippine government's decision to suspend the deployment of newly hired OFWs to the Middle Eastern country.
Sami Abdulaiz Al Hamad, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consulate Affairs Ambassador, met with Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa Jr. to request for the lifting of the suspension.
The suspension will be in effect pending the investigation of the seven deaths of OFWs reported to DOLE late last year.
Villa reassured Al Hamad in the meeting that the suspension was exclusively for first-time OFWs and did not affect OFWs on vacation or those with existing contracts.
Kuwait Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Jarallah said on Arabic news site Al Khaleej Online that the suspension of OFW deployment to Kuwait does not serve the common interests of either countries.
He said Kuwait became "a desirable destination for workers who live in safety and stability." In a report on Kuwait Times, he said the overall status of OFWs in Kuwait cannot be assessed based on individual cases.
Al-Jarallah then said Kuwait is open to discuss the conditions of the Filipino workers in their country.
Other cases mentioned in the meeting between Villa and Al Hamad included a case where 500 OFWs were forced to overstay in Kuwait due to a Kharafi national supposedly failing to pay them proper wages.
Villa also mentioned the 300 household service workers (HSWs) under the custody of the Embassy and the Philippines and Kuwait's commitment to protect OFWs from abuse.
He also asked agencies to follow the President's directive in the meantime and halt their deployment of HSWs to Kuwait until the order changes.
According to Al Hamad, 170,000 of the 260,000 OFWs in Kuwait were HSWs. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

Gaza war rages into fourth month as Blinken tours Middle East Adel Zaanoun with Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, --- Agence France-Presse

The Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza entered its fourth month on Sunday as the army again pounded the besieged Palestinian territory and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was back in the region seeking to avoid a wider escalation. Israeli airstrikes overnight and early Sunday killed at least 64 people in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, said its health ministry. It said two journalists were killed when their car was struck. The ministry, medics, and witnesses identified them as Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for Agence France-Presse, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza who earlier lost his wife and two other children in an Israeli strike. Israeli bombardment also claimed other civilian lives in the southern city of Khan Yunis and in the Rafah area near the Egyptian border, where many of the territory's displaced people have sought refuge, AFP correspondents reported. Relatives were mourning the dead at Khan Yunis' European Hospital, am
Read more