DMW mulls blacklisting of problematic recruitment agencies in Kuwait

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Tuesday said it is considering blacklisting problematic recruitment agencies in Kuwait following the killing of overseas Filipino worker Julleebee Ranara. DMW Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople said they are set to discuss the weaknesses in the bilateral labor agreement with Kuwait with their counterparts. There is, however, no exact date of the talks yet. “We also need to discuss, marami e (so many), actually 'yung reporting mechanisms, tracking of welfare cases, and the possible whitelisting and blacklisting of recruitment agencies as what we have now in Saudi Arabia. We will explore all possibilities,” she said in an interview with CNN Philippines. The DMW already issued an order for the preventive suspension against the employer of slain Ranara. On January 22, Ranara’s burned body was found in the middle of the desert. She was reportedly raped and impregnated by the suspect, who is the 17-year-old son of her employer. The victim was also reportedly beaten and ran over by the suspect's car twice. On Monday, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said he wants to know if there are "weaknesses" in the labor agreement between the Philippines and Kuwait. He said a bilateral meeting is being scheduled with Kuwait to check the present agreement between the two countries. "We are also scheduling bilateral meetings with Kuwait to look at the agreement that we have to see if there are weaknesses in the agreement that allow this to happen and to make sure that those weaknesses are remedied," Marcos said after visiting Ranara's wake. "We hope this will never happen again to anyone of our countrymen," he added.—Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA Integrated News

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