Duterte now open to lifting Kuwait deployment ban

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he is now open to lifting the ban on deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait, after the Philippines and the Gulf state reached a deal that will provide more protection for Filipinos working there.

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Duterte sent senior Filipino officials to Kuwait this week to talk to Kuwait about the deal, which was demanded by Manila as a condition for its lifting of the deployment ban.

The President imposed the deployment ban last February following reported deaths of Filipino workers in Kuwait, including Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer in the same month, a year after she was reported missing.

“So nandoon sila, nandito --- baka signing today. Ang hiningi ko, papayag ako i-lift ang ban,” Duterte said in a speech in Marawi City.

(They are there for the signing. I made several conditions for the lifting of the ban.)

“So ‘pag na-comply ‘yan… and no physical abuse. Tapos ‘pag may complaint, ang unang tawagan nila, may special police para lang sa Pilipino, kung inaabuso sila, makatawag sila sa atin. Kung nandiyan lahat ‘yan, sabi ko 'okay ako'.”

(If these demands are complied with, such as no physical abuse against Filipinos — and if there are complaints, there should be a special police for abused Filipinos and they should be able to call us — then I’m okay.)

In a major breakthrough in the months-long diplomatic row, officials from both countries signed the memorandum of understanding called the "Agreement on the Employment of Domestic Workers between the Philippines and Kuwait."

Among the provisions of the deal are the creation of a 24/7 hotline where Filipino workers may report abuses, and a special police unit to respond to such complaints.

• Duterte outlines demands for Kuwait in OFW deployment row

Negotiations for the agreement earlier hit a snag when the two countries figured in the diplomatic row following the Philippine embassy’s rescue missions for distressed Filipino workers.

Kuwait viewed the rescue operations as a violation of its sovereignty. This prompted Kuwait to expel Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa, arrest four Filipino drivers who participated in the operations, and order the arrest of three Filipino diplomats.

Talks between Filipino and Kuwaiti officials this week seemed to ease the tension between the two countries.

Kuwait has already released the four drivers and expressed readiness to “release”, according to the Palace, the three diplomats who chose to stay at the Philippine embassy in the Gulf state to evade arrest.

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