Signing of PHL-Kuwait deal on OFW protection possible after Ramadan —Palace



By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
The Philippines and Kuwait will push through with the signing of the deal for the protection of OFWs even after the Gulf state protested the rescue of distressed Filipino domestic workers for supposed lack of proper coordination with authorities, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) spelling out the "minimum" terms and conditions of employment of OFWs will be signed possibly after the Ramadan, Islam's holy month, which according to reports is due to start on May 15 and will continue for 30 days until June 14.
President Rodrigo Duterte had said he would witness the signing of the MOU after the Kuwaiti government acceded to his demands.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, on the other hand, said in a separate press briefing that "both sides hope that it can be signed before Ramadan."
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.
Roque, meanwhile, denied that the Philippines' bargaining power had been weakened by the controversy involving the rescue mission that prompted the Kuwait government to summon Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa to explain the actions of the consular staff.
"If it did, then the MOU would not be signed. But I understand it will still be signed so I don't see how our position was weakened," he said in a news conference.
"I think he made it very clear that he had no other option but to protect Filipino workers in Kuwait. I think that was made very clear to the Kuwait side but at the same time because we also have this independent foreign policy he also recognized the right of sovereignty as far as Kuwait is concerned."
"It was a frank but very cordial discussion," Roque said of the meeting. "Both parties reiterate their mutual support for each other and parted even closer as friends."
Some 250,000 Filipinos live and work in Kuwait, 75 percent of which are household service workers, according to government estimates. Some 300 Filipinos apply for work in Kuwait every day.
At present, a deployment ban on newly hired OFWs is in place in Kuwait, caused by the recent cases of abuses, among them the killing of Joanna Demafelis whose body was found inside a freezer in an apartment previously occupied by her employers. —KBK, GMA News

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