Duterte to Kuwait, MidEast countries: Treat my countrymen as human beings



President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday appealed to Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries to treat Filipino workers "as human beings" amid widespread reports of abuses, with some resulting in deaths.
"Can I ask you now just to treat my countrymen as human beings with dignity," Duterte, who is bound for New Delhi for the ASEAN-India Special Commemorative Summit, said during his pre-departure speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. 
Duterte's statement was met with applause from those present in the event.
“I do not want to fight with you. We are poor, we may need your help, but we will not do it at the expense of the dignity of the Filipino.”
Before Duterte made the remark, he acknowledged the presence of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who will join him in India. “I hope I am not committing a diplomatic faux pas,” hesaid.
He also reiterated his warning of a total deployment ban to Kuwait if he hears another tale of abuse.
“And I’m sorry, the Filipinos there, you can all go home. Tutal ‘pag na — nag-alis kayo lahat na mga Pilipino diyan, they will also be having a hell of a time adjusting to that,” he said.
“Hindi ako papayag na… a continuous incident of things like that. They have to endure rape, they have to endure starvation, and they get about only four hours — that’s a universal story for all Filipinos,” Duterte added.
An estimated 10 million Filipinos work overseas, majority of them in the Middle East, and the money they send home helps spur economic growth. In Kuwait, there is an estimated 260,000 Filipino workers, 170,000 of them employed as household service workers (HSWs), who are considered vulnerable and prone to abuses.
Last week, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) suspended the deployment of newly hired OFWs to Kuwait pending investigation on the deaths of seven Filipino workers there.
Labor Secretary Silvestre  Bello III ordered the suspension a day after Duterte said he is mulling banning the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait amid reports of maltreatment.
On Wednesday, Duterte said he will "never again" tolerate another incident of a Filipino worker getting raped abroad.
"I hope that you'd listen to me because I mean well, but I will never, never, never again tolerate another incident of rape to the point of committing of suicide, jumping out the window. That is something the Filipino people cannot stomach," he said.
"If I can't do something about it, then there's no reason for me to stay in this position any minute longer," Duterte added.
Sami Abdulaiz Al Hamad, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consulate Affairs Ambassador, has met with Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa Jr. to request for the lifting of the suspension. —Trisha Macas/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more