OWWA urges OFWs in Kuwait to apply for amnesty before April 12 deadline


Filipino workers in Kuwait were urged by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to avail the amnesty offer of the Gulf state before the April 12 deadline for applications, according to a report of Super Radyo dzBB's James Agustin on Unang Balita on Thursday.
"'Wag na pong magatubili at mag-apply na po para maka-avail na po ng amnestiya," OWWA adminstrator Hans Leo Cacdac said.
The amnesty period will end on April 22.
OWWA welcomed almost 100 new repatriates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 from Kuwait on Wednesday evening. Some 4,000 OFWs have been repatriated since February.
Mary Jane Buenavidez, one of the repatriates, experienced the kind of abuse the memorandum of understanding under negotiation between the Philippines and Kuwait aims to prevent in the future.
"Wala 'kong day-off, sir, tapos pinapatulog ako ng amo ko alas-dose. Tapos gising ako ng alas-singko. Pagka alas-sais, magsimula 'ko ng trabaho ko," Buenavidez said.
Another OFW recounted the restrictions placed on her movement.
"Halos lahat, kailangan hawakan ng passport. Then tulad ko, 'yung aking pitaka, 'yung aking civil ID, 'di niya pinahahawakan sa akin pero nagwo-work ako sa labas as a home service salon," Marisol Etorma recalled.
Among the conditions President Rodrigo Duterte set for a possible trip to Kuwait to occur are ensuring the rights of OFWs to hold on to their passports, to have at least seven hours of sleep daily, to be given day offs, to be assured of protection from abuse, and to have the freedom to cook their own food.
Estimates show that 75 percent of the 250,000 Filipinos in Kuwait are household service workers, with some 300 Filipinos applying for work in the Gulf state daily.
Abuse remains the chief complaint of deployed Filipinos and were the staple in the life of Joanna Demafelis prior to her death and discovery inside a freezer in a Kuwaiti apartment abandoned by her employers.
Police treated Demafelis' employers—Nader Essam Assaf and his Syrian wife Mouna Hassoun—as the primary suspects behind the OFW's death, prompting a manhunt that led to the arrest and sentencing of the couple to death.
Duterte imposed a deployment ban to Kuwait that may only be partially lifted until the Demafelis family receives justice and the protection of Filipino workers can be secured. —Rie Takumi/KG, GMA News

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