THE Marcos government has assured assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the Kuwaiti government’s visa suspension, including their inclusion in the National Reintegration Program of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Reports last week said the Kuwaiti government has suspended the issuance of new entry visas for Filipinos, but those with existing work visas and are living in Kuwait can still enter the Middle Eastern country.
At least 3,000 OFWs who are newly employed in Kuwait are reportedly affected by the suspension.
Around 260,000 Filipinos are living and working in Kuwait, including some 170,000 deployed as household service workers.
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) are set to leave for Kuwait to discuss the suspension which came out in reports last Thursday, before the Philippine government was formally notified by Kuwait.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Paul Cortes, in a Presidential Communications Office-organized forum last Saturday, said the Kuwaiti government has finally informed the Philippines about the suspension after the reports that came out through media.
On the provision of aid, he said the government is providing assistance to the affected OFWs as it understands the difficulties they had to go through to secure employment and even flights to Kuwait.
He did not specify what forms of assistance but said the DMW, during rescue operations of Filipinos from conflict-stricken Sudan, provided assistance to those affected, like a $200 financial aid and assistance for possible redeployment to other countries to new employment and livelihood assistance, among others.
Cortes said the officials from the DFA and DMW who are set to travel this month to Kuwait for ongoing discussions on labor concerns will raise the visa suspension issue during their meeting.
“It’s a constant communication forum that we have instituted — not only with Kuwait but all the others to make sure that we’re always on track as far as protection and promotion of the well-being of our migrants are concerned,” he said.
Reports said the Kuwaiti government said the Philippines violated some labor agreements, including the setting up of “shelters” in the embassy for Filipino workers who need assistance, including those who ran away from their employers and their contracts.
Cortes said the Philippines has no violated any labor agreement.
He also said the Philippines would never agree to any suggestion for the removal or non-set up of shelters for Filipinos, because it is provided in the country’s laws. He added that the shelters are parts of the embassies, and it is practiced in countries where there are Philippine embassies and workers.
The DFA, in a statement on Saturday, said it “confirms that the Kuwaiti government has suspended the issuance of new entry visas for Philippine nationals into Kuwait.”
“However, those holding current residence visas, which is evidenced by their possession of a Kuwait civil ID (iqama) can leave and enter Kuwait,” it said.
Controversies have hounded the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait, including deaths of Filipino household workers. Government records showed 185 Filipinos have died from various causes in Kuwait from 2016.
The latest was 35-year-old Jullebee Ranara whose burned body was found in a desert in Kuwait in January. She was allegedly raped and impregnated by the 17-year old son of her employer.
In 2018 and 2019, the deaths of Joanna Demafelis and Jeanelyn Villavende prompted calls for a ban on the deployment of household workers in the oil-rich emirate.
The Duterte administration implemented a ban on the deployment of household workers to the country. The ban was lifted in 2020 after a labor pact was signed, which commits Kuwait to ensure the protection and welfare of Filipino workers.
Ranara’s death have rise to calls for government to impose a deployment ban but Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople said the government is looking at “additional safeguards and reforms to make sure workers bound for Kuwait are better protected.”
