Gabriela solons seek probe into plight of domestic workers in Middle East


By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
Representatives of the Gabriela Women's Party on Thursday filed a resolution seeking an investigation into the plight of domestic helpers in the Middle East as well as the current status of government assistance programs.
In House Bill 1830, Gabriela Women's Party Representatives Emmi De Jesus and Arlene Brosas urged the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the numerous abuses committed against household service workers in the Middle East.
The filing of the resolution came after the expulsion of former Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa from Kuwait over his alleged failure to address the Middle Eastern state's complaints over the rescue of OFWs by his staff.
“In contrast to the recent gimmickry of the Duterte regime in rescuing distressed OFWs from their homes in Kuwait at the expense of our kababayans and diplomatic ties, we are pushing for an objective and coordinated assessment of the situation of Filipino domestic helpers in the Middle East through a congressional inquiry and on-site visit,” De Jesus said.
"In a desperate move to prop up dwindling political support, the Duterte regime through Ambassador Renato Villa shamelessly used the issues of OFWs in Kuwait to feign concern for migrant workers. Now, this reckless and self-serving gimmickry is endangering the welfare of thousands of OFWs in Kuwait and creating diplomatic tensions which could spread across Arab states,” she added.
De Jesus said the resolution traces its roots to complaints from Filipino domestic workers in the Middle East under the group Samahan ng mga Domestic Helper sa Gitnang Silangan.
In the resolution, the lawmakers noted that at 6,000 cases of abuse and maltreatment involving OFWs have been recorded in Kuwait alone last year.
A total of 196 of these involved deaths of Filipinos in Kuwait.
"[T]he privatized and deregulated nature of the overseas employment program is causing the dire situation of our Filipina migrant workers, it left the abusers unpunished and the victims unable to seek justice," the resolution read.
De Jesus said these cases of violations of the rights of migrant workers under the Duterte administration only shows that the current programs and interventions which ought to address the plight of the OFWs in the Middle East should be evaluated.
Aside from this, the resolution also urged for a thorough review of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995, Household Service Workers Policy Reform Package, and existing bilateral agreements between the Philippines and Middle East countries. — BM, GMA News

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