Senator Rafael "Raffy" Tulfo on Tuesday, June 6, denounced the move of the Kuwaiti government to crackdown on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are victims of crimes and other abuses.
This, according to Tulfo, despite his suggestions to protect their rights through mandatory pre-engagement seminars, background checks, and psychological and medical exams for employers of domestic workers during a Senate hearing on the murder of domestic helper Jullebee Ranara.
The Kuwaiti government recently moved against documented and undocumented OFWs in Kuwait which resulted in the deportation of many Filipinos.
There are also claims that shelters rented out by the Philippine Embassy are violative of a 2012 bilateral agreement between the two countries.
Notably, the recent action of the Kuwaiti government to deport some 350 Filipinos was done while negotiations between Kuwait and the Philippines are being undertaken in order to settle the temporary deployment ban imposed on domestic helpers who are statistically more prone to abuses at the hands of their foreign employers.
Tulfo, chairman of the Senate committee on migrants workers, also deplored demands by the Kuwait government for the Philippines to issue an apology for supposedly violating agreements between the two countries, when it should be the other way around.
"We cannot come to the negotiating table on bended knees and folded arms," Tulfo said, emphasizing that the Philippines does not lose the right to protect its citizens simply because the crimes and abuses were done in Kuwaiti soil.
Tulfo also stressed that providing shelter for OFWs in distress is a necessity due to the experience of many victims having to sleep on the streets when the embassies’ shelters are at full capacity while they are in the process of complying with the requisites of repatriation or while they are gathering pertinent documents related to filing their own cases.
The senator from Isabela and Davao, likewise, pointed out that the renting and maintenance of property to serve as OFW shelters is also non-violative of any accord, bilateral agreement, or contractual obligation between Kuwait and the Philippines.
"We cannot expect them to stay in the house of the person who committed crimes against them nor seek help alone from a forum that is notoriously in favor of the abuser," he said.
To address the further escalation of negotiations, Tulfo has begun coordinating with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in order to constitute a negotiating team with the involvement of the Joint Committee on Migrant Workers.
Currently, Tulfo is openly coordinating with the DMW and the DFA in order to actively participate in negotiating for better pre-engagement protocols for OFWs and is consulting with the said departments in order to draft legislation that would help secure their safety and ease their enforcement of rights.
To date, the transfer of OFWs in counties that are safer for them, including Guam, Hungary, Austria, Oman, UAE, Jordan, is already being considered.
Tulfo said that Filipinos are looked up to by employers in different parts of the world because of reliable traits and qualities, such as the ability to speak and understand English, and being respectful, and hardworking.