Leni hopeful on bilateral agreement with Kuwait
Published Feb 12, 2018 03:19 pm
By Raymund Antonio
Amid the ban to deploy overseas Filipino workers to Kuwait, Vice President Leni Robredo is looking forward to the signing of a bilateral agreement between the Philippine and Kuwaiti government that would ensure the rights of OFWs are protected.
Robredo, who once served as housing chief, said she hoped the agreement signing will take place once President Rodrigo Duterte visits Kuwait to speak with leaders in the Arab nation.
Vice President Leni Robredo (Photo by OVP/Manila Bulletin file photo)
"I hope Duterte's visit would put pressure on Kuwait to sign the deal,” she said in Pilipino during her weekly radio show, “BISErbisyong Leni,” aired on RMN-dzXL 558.
The Vice President underscored the importance of the bilateral agreement as she believed that it would improve the welfare of OFWs working in the Gulf state.
“Because no matter what happens, the reality is, the Filipinos there who aren't being abused don't want to return home because they're thinking about their employment. So we have to make sure that those who remain are really protected," she said.
Duterte has been invited to Kuwait amid the issues that involve the treatment of Filipino domestic helpers in the oil-rich kingdom.
Just recently, the Philippine government learned Joanna Daniela Dimapilis, 29, was found inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait.
Her body is believed to have been stored for more than a year.
Her foreign employers, identified as Lebanese Nader Assaf and his Syrian wife, were implicated.
The Vice President agreed with Duterte over the continued suspension of OFW deployment to Kuwait, stressing that is a “strong” response to reports of violence against Filipino workers in the Middle East country.
But apart from the deployment restriction, she is pushing for the signing of the bilateral agreement that would protect the welfare of OFWs.
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the draft of such agreement has already been sent to Kuwait.
He confirmed this when he was guest at the Vice President’s radio program.
“I know we will have engagement with them. We will have communication about the bilateral talks leading up to an agreement. So in my understanding, it will happen in the new few weeks,” Cacdac said.
The OWWA official said that the Kuwaiti government’s invitation for Duterte is “one of the indicators” of talks between the two nations that will lead to the agreement signing for the protection of OFWs.
Vice President Leni Robredo (Photo by OVP/Manila Bulletin file photo)
"I hope Duterte's visit would put pressure on Kuwait to sign the deal,” she said in Pilipino during her weekly radio show, “BISErbisyong Leni,” aired on RMN-dzXL 558.
The Vice President underscored the importance of the bilateral agreement as she believed that it would improve the welfare of OFWs working in the Gulf state.
“Because no matter what happens, the reality is, the Filipinos there who aren't being abused don't want to return home because they're thinking about their employment. So we have to make sure that those who remain are really protected," she said.
Duterte has been invited to Kuwait amid the issues that involve the treatment of Filipino domestic helpers in the oil-rich kingdom.
Just recently, the Philippine government learned Joanna Daniela Dimapilis, 29, was found inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait.
Her body is believed to have been stored for more than a year.
Her foreign employers, identified as Lebanese Nader Assaf and his Syrian wife, were implicated.
The Vice President agreed with Duterte over the continued suspension of OFW deployment to Kuwait, stressing that is a “strong” response to reports of violence against Filipino workers in the Middle East country.
But apart from the deployment restriction, she is pushing for the signing of the bilateral agreement that would protect the welfare of OFWs.
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the draft of such agreement has already been sent to Kuwait.
He confirmed this when he was guest at the Vice President’s radio program.
“I know we will have engagement with them. We will have communication about the bilateral talks leading up to an agreement. So in my understanding, it will happen in the new few weeks,” Cacdac said.
The OWWA official said that the Kuwaiti government’s invitation for Duterte is “one of the indicators” of talks between the two nations that will lead to the agreement signing for the protection of OFWs.