Duterte warns Kuwait of karma over abuse of OFWs


By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
President Rodrigo Duterte warned that karma may catch up with Kuwait over the spate of abuse and maltreatment of Filipino workers in the Arab nation.
“Ang mundo umiikot. Minsan 'yan mabilis, baka mag-abot 'yan na tinatawag na karma. When the time comes, you will remember us,” Duterte said on Tuesday night in a speech at a welcome event for repatriated workers from Kuwait at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.
“Is this the way you repay us? Ano'ng nagawa ng Pilipinas sa inyo? Nagsisilbi, tapos inaabuso ninyo,” he added.
Present during the event were 116 repatriated overseas Filipino workers from Kuwait who received P15,000 each in cash assistance and grocery bags from the government.
Another batch of 150 repatriates were expected to fly in to Manila late Tuesday evening.
They are among the thousands of undocumented and overstaying OFWs who availed of Kuwait’s amnesty program that started from January 29 and will end on February 22.
“Kuwait’s amnesty program covers residence violators, those with absconding cases, and jailed due to expired visas,” the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said in a statement.
In his speech, Duterte said the government is “here to ensure that every Filipino is treated with decency.”
He also assured his support for repatriated workers and thanked flag carriers Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific for mounting special flights to help ferry distressed Filipino workers back to the Philippines.
“In behalf of our countrymen, salamat po. I will remember you for all time,” Duterte said.
To address the plight of returning OFWs who will have to look for new jobs, the national government has directed its missions to find alternative work for them, particularly in countries that are signatories to International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions protecting migrant workers’ rights.
Duterte ordered the ban of Filipino deployment to Kuwait after the body of a migrant Filipina worker was found in a freezer. —JST, GMA News

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