Solon favors total deployment ban to Kuwait amid Villavende's killing

If it were up to him, House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs senior vice chairman Eric Pineda said the Philippines should have imposed a total deployment ban of migrant workers to Kuwait following the killing of Filipina domestic worker Jeanelyn Villavende.
In an interview on Dobol B sa News TV aired on GMA News TV on Sunday, Pineda, who is also the chair of the House Committee on Labor and Employment, said a total deployment ban would prompt the Kuwaiti government to comply with its agreement with the Philippines to protect the welfare of overseas Filipino workers.
"Kung ako ang masusunod, total ban muna. Tignan natin kung talagang tutupad sila sa pinag-usapang MOA (memorandum of agreement) na aayusin nila agad ang problemang ito and they will bring the accused to justice," he said.
"Kung ganyan, medyo it will be satisfactory for us and it will be a deterrent for the other employers na gumawa ng kasalanan. Kapag gumawa sila ng kasalanan, makukulong sila, bitay pa," he added.
On May 11, 2018, the Philippines and Kuwait inked an agreement to protect the welfare of OFWs in the Middle Eastern state following the death of household service worker Joanna Demafelis.

Among the provisions of the deal were OFWs should have a day off and get at least seven hours of sleep daily and their passports should no longer be confiscated by their employers.
But Pineda believes that the only way to prevent cases of abuse involving Filipino migrant workers is to prohibit their deployment to other countries altogether.
"Ang solusyon lang diyan ay talagang huwag na tayong magpadala ng mga unskilled workers especially sa Middle East kasi talagang naaabuso sila," he said.
"Ang sinasabi ko sa mga kasamahan natin sa gobyerno especially sa DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) na dapat talaga let's spur the growth of business para itong mga taong ito, hindi na kailangang pumunta sa ibang bansa para maghanapbuhay," he added.
The Philippine government should also exert all efforts in ensuring the protection of OFWs in the Middle East amid the heightening tension between the US and Iran, Pineda said.
"I'm sure the DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment), the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) have contingency plan. So kailangan nating tignan nang mabuti kung ano ang gagawin nila dito," he said.
"Aside from this contingency, we should look into other options that can really work for helping these stranded workers kung sakaling kailangang mag-evacuate," he added.
Villavende was allegedly killed by her employer's wife, the DFA said last month.
DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. demanded justice for Villavende's death and conveyed to the Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh the Philippine government's outrage over the killing.
Malacañang decried the death of Villavende as a “clear disregard” of the 2018 agreement between the Philippine and Kuwaiti government for the protection of OFWs.
The DOLE announced a partial deployment ban to Kuwait as a result. The said ban will cover first-time domestic helpers. It will not however cover returning OFWs and first-time skilled workers.
Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday called for a thorough study of the measure that will address the recurring killings of OFWs in Kuwait. 
Meanwhile, ACTS-OFW party-list chairman John Bertiz called on the government to impose a total deployment ban on household workers to Kuwait. —Erwin Colcol/KG, 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