Manila: Senator Raffy Tulfo on Tuesday called for a deployment ban of household workers to Kuwait, citing repeated cases of abuse and deaths among Filipino workers in the Gulf state. The senator made the proposal during a Senate Committee on Migrant Workers hearing, urging the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to recommend the ban to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. after the recent deaths of two Filipinos in Kuwait.
According to Philippines News Agency, Tulfo emphasized that swift justice for OFW deaths in Kuwait, while appreciated, is insufficient. He proposed a deployment ban that exempts domestic workers who have existing contracts and are returning to Kuwait. DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega, however, expressed 'cautious support' for the proposed ban, citing its potential as a negotiation tool to push for better protections for Filipino workers. He noted that Indonesia had already banned the deployment of household workers to the Middle East, showing such a measure is possible.
De Vega warned that diplomatic relations could be strained, as was the case following a temporary deployment ban in 2023 after the murder of OFW Jullebee Ranara. The body of Ranara, a 35-year-old household worker, was found burnt in a desert in January 2023. By February, the late DMW secretary Susan Ople limited the deployment of domestic workers to Kuwait to only those with previous work experience and banned first-timers. Kuwait responded by suspending all new visas for Philippine passport holders by May. The ban was lifted in June 2024.
Ranara's killer was the 17-year-old son of her employer, who was arrested within 24 hours of the discovery of her body and who confessed to the crime. He was later sentenced to 16 years -- one year for driving without a license and 15 years for murder. DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said he is open to the proposal but requested for more time to assess its feasibility.
The Senate hearing highlighted the challenges faced by the estimated 268,000 OFWs in Kuwait, many of whom are domestic helpers. Despite a labor agreement signed in 2018, De Vega admitted that Kuwait has been reluctant to renegotiate or add provisions to improve worker protections. Tulfo maintained that the ban is necessary to protect OFWs from further harm.
