MANILA -- A labor group on Wednesday urged the government to review the bilateral agreement with Kuwait following the death of another overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in the Gulf nation.
Sonny Matula, president of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), also asked the Duterte administration to impose an indefinite ban on the deployment of household service workers (HSWs) to Kuwait.
“The Duterte administration has urgent responsibility to review our bilateral agreement with Kuwait and pending review for an indefinite ban on deployment of HSW in said middle eastern state,” Matula said in a statement.
The organization also joined the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other labor groups in strongly condemning the death of Jeanelyn Padernal Villavende.
“FFW joins the strong condemnation of the violent killing of Filipino household service worker Jeanelyn Padernal Villavende in the hands of her Kuwaiti employer,” Matula said.
“We also extend our condolences to her family and relative whom she left behind,” he added.
Matula said the deaths of Joana Demafelis, Irma Avila Edloy, Josie Lloren, and the Villavende being the latest, who all died due to abuse sustained while they worked as domestic helpers abroad “were compelling reasons to justify the call for a temporary deployment ban of HSWs in Kuwait and some countries.”
“The DOLE and DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) need to address the slave-like situation of our HSW and renegotiate our bilateral agreements to ensure that HSW's are protected by imposing limits on maximum working hours for maids, like to those of other workers observing regular hours of work,” he said.
“We also call to strengthen agreements that HSW will no longer be allowed to stay in their employers' homes, which will ensure their protection,” the FFW head added.
In 2018, the Philippine and Kuwait governments have entered into an agreement on the deployment and protection of OFWs to be employed there.
Meanwhile, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center urged the Senate and House committees on labor as well as OFW affairs to conduct a joint hearing on the recent killing of Villavende, particularly on the capacity of both the government and private sectors to effectively monitor the conditions of domestic workers overseas.
Susan Ople, president of the policy center, said the OFW from South Cotabato had only been with her employer in Kuwait for six months prior to the alleged murder incident.
“The male employer works for the Ministry of Interior in Kuwait. He should have been the first to protect Jeanelyn from the abusive behavior of his wife. By the time he brought the badly beaten OFW to Al Sabah Hospital, it was already too late. If even government personnel behave this way, then how can we expect better and more humane treatment for our OFWs in Kuwait?,” she said.
Ople, daughter of former Senator Blas Ople, said a joint and independent probe by Congress would help establish the facts concerning existing monitoring systems for overseas domestic workers.
She added that it would also send a clear message to the government of Kuwait that the members of the Senate and House of Representatives strongly condemn the senseless killing of another OFW.
The joint congressional probe, she said, could also establish whether Villavende was also a victim of forced labor trafficking.
“Based on information that we received, it seems that the worker had earlier complained of being underpaid and deprived of her right to communicate with the family,” she added. (PNA)
