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DFA exec: Kuwait gov't can do more to ensure welfare of OFWs

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Distressed OFWs at the Kuwait International Airport Terminal 4 waiting for check-in procedures in this photo taken in 2020. Maxxy Santiago, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/overseas/03/25/ofw.jpg"/><figcaption>Distressed OFWs at the Kuwait International Airport Terminal 4 waiting for check-in procedures in this photo taken in 2020. Maxxy Santiago, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — The Kuwaiti government can do more to ensure the welfare of Filipino workers in the Gulf state, a foreign affairs official said Tuesday.&quot;To the best of our knowledge, we have not seen that they are violating the agreement,&quot; Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Headstart.&quot; &quot;What we think though is that perhaps they could do more to prevent these cases of runaway Filipinos.&quot;Over 600 Filipinos have been repatriated from Kuwait amid the labor row. The repatriated workers include those with labor cases; some were overstaying or have no work permit.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/05/23/644-filipinos-repatriated-from-kuwait-since-may-govt">644 Filipinos repatriated from Kuwait since May: gov&#x27;t</a></li></ul>De Vega considered it a &quot;positive development&quot;.&quot;It&#x27;s a positive development because those 600 or so, including 353 who flew just the past weekend, had been waiting for months and months,&quot; he said.Kuwait has imposed an entry ban on Filipinos who do not have a residency permit.Its government has demanded the Philippines to shut down shelters, which are housing migrant workers who escaped from their employers.But Manila has stood firm on maintaining these shelters.&quot;We have explained to the Kuwaiti side that when we say &#x27;shelter,&#x27; it is where Filipinos stay in the country while they are being processed and endorsed to the Kuwaiti government,&quot; Migrant Workers Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac has said in an interview.&quot;We can&#x27;t call them &#x27;fugitive workers&#x27; since they&#x27;re distressed and experiencing problems with employers.&quot;The two sides are expected to resume labor talks next month.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/05/12/23/ilang-ofws-nalulungkot-sa-entry-ban-sa-kuwait">Ilang OFWs nalulungkot sa entry ban sa Kuwait</a></li></ul>

The Kuwaiti government can do more to ensure the welfare of Filipino workers in the Gulf state, a foreign affairs official said Tuesday.