By Leslie Ann Aquino The labor department is scaling down the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait due to the burdensome requirements set by the Kuwaiti government in employing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN) "They will be requiring so many additional requirements from our workers. And that's giving more burden to our workers. So we might as well go to other countries, where there are not so much requirements," he said in a press briefing Wednesday. The Kuwaiti government said it will require expatriate passengers coming from the Philippines and nine other countries to present examination certificates issued only by health centers approved by the Embassy of State of Kuwait before they can enter the country. The absence of the required certificate will result in the passenger being prevented from entering Kuwait and deported on the same carrier without Kuwait bearing any financial costs. When asked if the scale down is a "retaliatory" move, Bello replied: "It's not a retaliatory order. It's a practical order." With the scale down, the labor chief said they will slow down in the processing of the Overseas Employment Certificates (OECs). The scale down will affect all OFW sectors, including skilled, semi-skilled, professionals, and household service workers. According to Bello, the order for the scaling down will be released either Wednesday or Thursday.