A SENATOR has filed a resolution seeking to investigate, in aid of legislation, the existing Philippine-Kuwait bilateral labor agreement and standard employment contract, citing the deaths of close to 200 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle Eastern country since 2016.
Senator Rafael “Raffy” T. Tulfo, under Senate Resolution 448, noted the need to establish stricter policies, adopt preventive measures, and apply sanctions or a ban on the deployment of OFWs in Kuwait.
Citing data from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the senator said 196 OFWs have died in Kuwait since 2016, with nearly 80% due to physical abuse.
In 2017, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait registered 6,000 cases of abuse, sexual harassment and rape.
“The lifting of the deployment ban in 2020 was premised on the adoption of a more harmonized Standard Employment Contract for OFWs in Kuwait, which was agreed upon and signed by the Philippine and Kuwait governments, and with terms and conditions purportedly for the added protection and welfare of our OFWs,” Mr. Tulfo said in the resolution.
“Despite the aforesaid lifting… and the use and enforcement of a new Standard Employment Contract, tragedies… remain a perplexing reality,” he added.
Over the weekend, the body of Filipino domestic helper Jullebee Cabilis Ranara was flown home after she was reportedly abused and killed brutally before being left in a desert by the 17-year-old son of her employer.
Her murder has renewed calls for the reimposition of a deployment ban in Kuwait.
However, the Department of Migrant Workers has ruled this out, vowing instead to renegotiate the bilateral agreement to ensure ample benefits, security, and protection for Filipino workers. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
