Kuwait to repatriate 600 runaways at its expense - 4 Pinoy 'rescue' drivers freed

KUWAIT: Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Philippine Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello meet Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah yesterday. - KUNA

KUWAIT: The Philippines and Kuwait have finally reached an agreement for the protection of Filipino workers in the country. In a press conference yesterday at the Philippine Embassy, Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, along with Philippine Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello, announced that a final memorandum of agreement will be signed tomorrow (Friday, May 11).

Earlier yesterday, the two Philippine officials met Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Development Hind Al-Sabeeh and Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah.

According to Bello, a technical working group from Kuwait met with their counterparts in Manila a month ago to work on the provisions of the agreement. "The draft of the MoA was initialed by both sides, and they were ready for it to be signed by the labor ministers of Kuwait and the Philippines, and perhaps even be witnessed by our president (Rodrigo Duterte) and HH the Amir of Kuwait (before the three-month crisis worsened). The provisions of the MoA have been cleared and final discussions will be held (today)," Bello added.

The two countries have been working on the pact to protect expatriate workers after the Philippines banned the dispatch of workers to Kuwait after reports of abuse. In February, Duterte called on Filipino workers in Kuwait to return home after the discovery of a domestic worker's body in a freezer in an abandoned home.

Last month, Kuwait expelled the Philippine ambassador and recalled its own envoy for consultations after embassy staff tried to "rescue" Filipino domestic workers amid reports of abuse. A day earlier, Manila had apologized for what Kuwait viewed as a "flagrant" violation of its sovereignty. After the Filipino envoy was expelled, Duterte announced that the temporary ban on workers going to Kuwait will be made permanent.

Duterte spokesperson Roque said all the provisions which Duterte wishes to see are present in the agreement. These include conditions that employers will not be allowed to confiscate workers' passports, which will be kept at the Philippine Embassy; and the domestic helper will be allowed a day off weekly and at least seven hours of sleep daily.

"The sponsor is obliged to provide decent food to housemaids and a good place to sleep. They are also allowed to have cellphones for communication purposes with their loved ones or when needed. In our talks, the ministry also promised to create a model contract which will be implemented not just for Filipino domestic helpers, but all other nationalities. All these provisions will be printed and specified in the contract," Roque said.

"The ministry of interior will create a special unit which will coordinate 24 hours a day with the Philippine Embassy over cases of maltreated housemaids. The ministry assured us that since we only have very few maltreated housemaids and the majority of Filipinos in Kuwait are not in danger, anyone mistreating the helpers will be brought to justice and the laws will be followed. The unit which will be formed will be under the ministry of interior and can be contacted at any given time, especially by the embassy, for any help. A special hotline will also be set up in case of any emergency, accessible to the embassy and the interior ministry," Roque stated.

According to him, the Philippines ranks fourth in the list of countries sending domestic helpers to Kuwait. India is first, Bangladesh second (with mostly male drivers, gardeners and cooks) and Sri Lanka third. Currently, there are around 150,000 Filipino domestic helpers in Kuwait. "They said if the terms of employment are implemented, it will be applied to all nationalities," Roque reiterated.

Bello noted that recently, the affairs of domestic helpers were placed under the ministry of social affairs and labor. "According to the Kuwaiti government, the move was made because they want all the workers to be protected under the ministry of social affairs and labor," he noted.

The two officials were also surprised by an announcement by Jarallah that the more than 600 remaining runaway housemaids currently housed at the embassy shelter will be sent back to the Philippines at the expense of the Kuwaiti government. "We are bringing home initially, on our flight back to Manila, 150 of these runaways. Of the more than 600 runaway housemaids, I think only 62 will be left behind in the shelter, since they have cases to be resolved. The rest will be sent back to Manila at the Kuwaiti government's expense, and we are really grateful for this gesture," he said.

With regards to four Filipinos who were arrested at the height of the diplomatic crisis for allegedly rescuing housemaids, Roque said they were all freed. But three diplomats sought for questioning by Kuwait for their role in the rescues remain holed up at the Philippine Embassy. "The three diplomats will also be allowed to leave soon pending an interior ministry clearance. They said they are coordinating with the ministry, and we are very positive that perhaps in two to three days, there will be good news too for the diplomats," Roque added.

With regards to the lifting of the ban on deploying workers to Kuwait, Bello said he will recommend a partial lifting of the ban to the president soon. "This will allow the deployment of skilled and professional workers for now. Housemaids will follow, but we want to see the immediate effect of the agreement which we are going to sign on Friday," he said.

During their visit to Kuwait, the two Filipino officials will meet members of the Filipino community and runaway housemaids at the embassy shelter. They will also be taken on a tour of the model shelter of the Kuwaiti government for runaway housemaids in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh.

By Ben Garcia