Deployment ban stays despite conviction of Demafelis employers —Palace


By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
Malacañang on Monday said the ban on the deployment of new hires to Kuwait remains despite the conviction of the employers of slain Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in February.
"I think it's still the agreement between the two countries on the matter of our treating our OFWs that will matter, not the matter of the couple being brough to justice," said Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra at a press briefing.
Demafelis' employers, a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife, were sentenced to death by hanging by a Kuwaiti court on Sunday, but reports said the ruling can still be appealed if the couple returns to Kuwait.
The couple was arrested in February in the Syrian capital Damascus following an Interpol manhunt. Syrian authorities handed the husband, Nader Essam Assaf, over to Lebanese authorities, while his Syrian wife remained in Damascus.
Guevarra said the Philippine government is leaving it to Kuwaiti authorities to carry out the death sentence for the couple.
"That really belongs to the realm of Kuwaiti law. So if they have probably some extradition treaty with any country kung saan makikita 'yung mga mahahanap then probably they will avail themselves of such mutual legal assistance agreements or extradition treaties if possible," Guevarra said.
Guevarra said President Rodrigo Duterte might have already been aware of the latest development in Demafelis' case, adding the Chief Executive and the Filipino nation only wanted justice for the 29-year-old Iloilo native.
The Philippines and Kuwait are working towards inking a memorandum of understanding on the protection of OFWs.
Some of the conditions laid down by the President last month include passports of all overseas Filipino workers should no longer be confiscated by their employers, workers must get at least seven hours a day of sleep, should be fed nutritious food, and should be allowed to avail of holiday leaves.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), for its part, mentioned provisions such as the binding effect of the Philippine-crafted employment contract, the guaranteed payment of minimum monthly net pay of $400 paid through the bank, and non-confiscation of mobile phones and other communication gadgets.
An estimated 250,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, 75 percent of which are household service workers. Some 300 Filipinos apply for work in Kuwait every day.
Many OFWs in Kuwait have complained of being treated badly, receiving no salary and other forms of abuse.
The most serious case was the discovery last February of Demafelis' body inside a freezer in a Kuwaiti apartment.
Prior to the grim discovery, her relatives in the Philippines said she had been missing for more than a year. Autopsy results showed she died due to severe beating allegedly at the hands of her employer.  —KBK, GMA News

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