Manila,
Philippines – Despite the positive news in the case of the slain Filipina
worker in Kuwait Joana Demafelis, Malacanang said that total deployment ban to
the said county is still in effect until President Rodrigo Duterte’s conditions
are met.
According
to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a text message sent to reporters,
the president is considering in proceeding as planned to Kuwait, only if his
earlier conditions would be met for the benefits of our Overseas Filipino
Worker (OFW).
Roque made
the statement in a text message sent to malacanang reporters as the president
presided over a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“PRRD might
proceed to Kuwait if DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) can assure the
implementation of the conditions,” Roque said in his text message.
The spokesman
was referring to the statement of the president earlier that there should be no
confiscation of passport and instead be deposited with the Philippine Embasy in
Kuwait.
Furthermore,
the president also wants OFWs to get a 7-hour sleep, one day-off per week, to
allow them to cook for their own food, and importantly, to be spared from physical
abuse.
Roque added
that while the said efforts are on going, the Foreign Affairs Secretary (SFA)
Alan Peter Cayetano said that the deployment ban on OFWs to Kuwait will stay.
“Secretary
Bello said they’re moving to include these in the employment contract. Per SFA,
no final agreement [was] reached yet. Deployment ban stays,” Roque said.
Just over
the weekend, positive development of Demafelis case came in. The Kuwait
criminal court sentenced the couple who killed the Filipina OFW by hanging.
Despite the
news, the palace had said that this was not enough for the Philippine government
to lift the deployment ban.
“(T)he
total ban on sending OFWs to Kuwait is still on. But of course, an agreement, a
memorandum of understanding is being formulated and hopefully, the state
parties will come to terms as to how our OFWs in Kuwait, as well as in other
Middle Eastern countries, will be protected. So basically that will be a
solution to this total ban about sending OFWs to Kuwait,” Senior Deputy
Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said last Monday.
“I think
it’s still the agreement between the countries in the manner of treating our
OFWs that will matter. Not the matter of the couple being brought to justice,”
he added.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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