Flag of Kuwait (Unsplash)



The chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs is calling for a total deployment ban on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait. This, as Pangasinan 3rd district Rep. Rachel Arenas described as an act of retribution the recent decision of the Kuwaiti government to suspend the issuance of new entry visas for Filipinos. “This total deployment ban must be enforced until the Kuwaiti government sit down with our officials and agree to our demands. Until then, we should not entertain their demands and acts of intimidation," Arenas said. Last February, the Philippine government issued a deployment ban on first-time household Filipino workers to the oil-rich nation. This was triggered by the brutal murder of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara, in Kuwait. Ranara was reportedly raped, murdered, burnt, and then thrown in the desert. Arenas, who has been actively assisting OFWs who were victims of abuse together with her mother former Deputy Speaker Rose Marie "Baby" Arenas, reminded the Kuwaiti government that the decision of the Philippines to issue a deployment ban to their country was rooted in its deplorable history of maltreatment against OFWs most especially domestic workers. She said Kuwait's "coercion style", or plan to pressure the Philippines into lifting the domestic workers ban with its visa suspension, does not sit well with the Filipino people. “It pains me to see OFWs being abused - more so slaughtered by people whom they selflessly served...This only happens in Kuwait and the Kuwaiti government seems to have no teeth in implementing their laws. "Our OFWs should be sent to countries who will treat them with dignity, protect their rights, and promote their welfare,” she said. Last week, a team of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) officials flew to Kuwait to negotiate with the government there.