Duterte to visit Kuwait for signing of deal on OFW protection


By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he would visit Kuwait to witness the signing of an agreement seeking to ensure the protection and welfare of Filipino workers in the Gulf state.
Speaking before thousands of overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong, Duterte said he decided to push through with the trip after the Kuwaiti government acceded to his demands.
These conditions include passports of all OFWs should no longer be confiscated by their employers, the OFWs must get at least seven hours of sleep daily, should be allowed to cook their own food and to avail of one day off, and should not be subjected to physical abuse.
"I think to give honor also to the Kuwaiti government, I will go there for the signing, just to witness it. Fly in, fly out lang ako," the President said.
Kuwaiti Ambassador the Philippines Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh earlier extended the invitation for Duterte to visit the Gulf state to check the situation of Filipino workers there.
An estimated 250,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, 75 percent of which are household service workers. Some 300 Filipinos apply for work in Kuwait every day.
Many OFWs in Kuwait have complained of being treated badly, receiving no salary and experiencing other forms of abuse.
The most serious case was the discovery last February of Joanna Demafelis' body inside a freezer in a Kuwaiti apartment, prompting Duterte to issue a deployment ban.
A Kuwaiti court has already sentenced to death Demafelis' former employers, a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife, but reports said the ruling can still be appealed if the couple returns to Kuwait. —KBK, GMA News

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