SUPPORT. Bishop Ruperto Santos of the Diocese of Balanga on Friday (Jan 3, 2020) expresses support for the government’s partial ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait, following the death of a domestic helper. Santos chairs the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines - Episcopal Commission for the Protection of Migrants and Itinerant People. (File photo by Ernie Esconde)
BALANGA CITY, Bataan -- Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos on Friday expressed support for the government ban on the deployment of newly hired overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait.
“We stand and support the actions being taken by government officials,” Santos said in a statement.
He said the killing of another OFW in Kuwait was a clear and repeated violation of the May 2018 agreement between the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and Kuwait for the protection of Filipino workers.
“The contract demands fuller and transparent investigation and strict implementation of justice. With the tragic loss of another innocent life, it means that our OFWs are not protected. Their rights are not promoted and their lives are always in constant danger,” said the chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People (CBCP – ECMI).
On Friday, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) declared a partial ban on the sending of Filipino workers, particularly newly-hired household service workers to Kuwait, effective immediately.
The Department of Labor and Employment also instructed the POEA to include a moratorium on the processing and verification of individual contracts and additional job orders for the same category of workers.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III issued the memorandum amid reported cases of maltreatment and deaths involving OFWs in Kuwait, specifically the death of Jeanelyn Padernal Villavende.
In February last year, the death of Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer, prompted Manila to impose a total deployment ban on the sending of OFWs to Kuwait.
“It is just and proper that our DFA review the agreement and (the) government impose the deployment ban,” Santos said.
The ban was lifted after DFA signed an agreement with the Gulf state on the welfare and protection of OFWs.
He said Filipino priests led by Fr. Resty Ogsimer, CBCP-ECMI executive secretary, are assisting the Villavende family.
“Let us always pray for our OFWs,” Santos said. (PNA)
