MANILA — Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Tuesday expressed support for the Senate’s move calling for a total deployment ban on household service workers (HSWs) to countries that fail to assure their labor rights and good working conditions.
Bello made the statement after the Senate adopted Resolution No. 676, which seeks to ban the deployment of Filipino HSWs to nations with high cases of abuse.
“It should be. If there is no Memorandum of Agreement between our country and the accepting countries, then it is foolhardy to deploy our overseas because they will not be protected,” said Bello in an interview.
Last week, senators said they would like to stop sending HSWs to countries that do not give protection to Filipino workers.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III added that it is time to put an end to the abuses and deaths of Filipinos, particularly HSWs, in the hands of their foreign employers.
“I’m not inclined yet to recommend the lifting with respect to HSWs. I may recommend the lifting with respect to our skilled workers since the incidents of abuse and maltreatment are very minimal,” the DOLE chief said when asked regarding the possibility of lifting the existing OFW deployment ban to Kuwait.
Last month, the department imposed a total deployment ban of OFWs to the Arab state upon the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
