By Francis Wakefield
Andanar said this comes
after the proactive and just response made by the Kuwaiti Government on the
said case as compared to the case of Joanna Demafelis back in 2018.
“The government of Kuwait
has carried out what our administration sought for when we signed an agreement
with them to provide better protection for Filipino migrant workers in 2018,”
Andanar said in a statement.
“The Duterte Administration
will continue to seek out agreements with all governments to ensure the safety
and protection of our OFW all over the world,” he added.
President Duterte
previously said that he is not keen on ordering a total deployment ban in
Kuwait following the death of another Filipina worker there.
The President made the
remark when asked during a television interview his thoughts on the death of
Villavende, allegedly in the hands of her female employer who is now in the
custody of Kuwaiti authorities.
According to the Chief
Executive, the situation is quite different compared to before as Kuwaiti
authorities acted swiftly on the case and able to immediately arrest the
perpetrators.
“You know the situation is
quite different. We do not see apathy there and the police authorities in
Kuwait acted swiftly and they have arrested the spouses,” President Duterte
said.
“As you can see, there were
arrests made and there is an investigation going on and apparently justice is
being done. I’m not really keen on moving people out,” he added.
Chief presidential Legal
Counsel and spokesman Salvador Panelo earlier said that it will depend on
Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III if it will
recommend a total deployment ban of OFW in Kuwait following the death of
Padernal.
“Well, as we said earlier,
the President is outraged by that, it is a violation of the agreement between
these two countries and the incident is under investigation,” Panelo told
reporters in a press briefing in MalacaΓ±ang.
“The Secretary of Labor as
you said has already executed a partial deployment. Let’s see if it becomes
full deployment of the ban,” he added.
Bello previously announced
that the government will partially be banning the deployment of overseas
household service workers in Kuwait.
The partial ban, he said,
was recommended by Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa and is subject to the approval
of the governing board of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
The ban will be covering the first-time workers who will serve as household
service workers to Kuwait. (TribunePH)
