MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday expressed appreciation to the Kuwaiti government for approving the conditions he demanded for the protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Gulf state.
“Frankly, I would like to thank especially the Kuwait government for giving us these conditions with a better place for our OFWs,” Duterte said in his speech during the 120th anniversary of the Philippine Navy at the Coconut Palace, CCP Complex.
Duterte’s conditions highlight the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalih Al Hamad Al Sabah on May 12.
The memorandum entitled “Agreement on Employment on Domestic Workers between the Government of the State of Kuwait and the Governments of the Republic of the Philippines” provides that Kuwait should ensure OFWs will be provided food, housing, clothing and health insurance coverage.
Under the agreement, the employer is also prohibited to confiscate OFWs’ passports and other personal identification, including cellphones and other means of communication.
The OFWs are also allowed to open their bank accounts so that they will be able to remit their salaries back home as provided for in the employment contract.
Duterte said the Kuwaiti government has also agreed to allow OFWs to have one day off each week, at least seven hours of sleep a day an not to tolerate physical abuse.
“We’re okay now with Kuwait. My conditions were met. The Kuwaiti government has shown courage in meeting our challenge,” Duterte said.
Upon the recommendation of Special Envoy to Kuwait Abdullah Mama-o, Duterte directed late last week the labor department to totally lift the ban on the deployment of Filipinos to Kuwait.
Last February, Duterte ordered a total ban on deployment of Filipino workers in the Gulf state after the body of Filipina Joanna Daniella Demafelis was found inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment of her employers.
With the help of the Kuwaiti government, Demafalis’ employers — Labanese Nader Essam Assaf and his wife, Mona Hassoun of Syria — have been arrested and detained in their respective countries. (PNA)
