DOLE to study lifting of OFW ban on Kuwait

“They deserve much attention, care and protection. It’s just right to give back to them what they have contributed to the growth of the country,” Vargas said. 

“Our OFWs are called the unsung heroes and backbone of the Philippine economy. It is only fair and prudent that the government looks after the total well-being of those who have contributed significantly to the country, like the OFWs,” he added. 

According to him, proceeds of the proposed trust fund can be used by the national government for the “repatriation, medical expenses and migration fees for overstaying Filipino workers abroad.”  

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo urged Bello to fire officials who may be found incompetent and who committed gross neglect of duty in saving the life of Demafelis.  

“It is not enough that the DOLE, on orders of the President, has imposed a total ban on deployment to Kuwait,” he said, noting that Demafelis’ family had pleaded for help after they lost communication with her. 

“About 5.8 percent of some 2.4 million documented OFWs are in Kuwait, the fourth-largest destination of Filipinos who work abroad. That’s about 150,000 OFWs needing protection,” Castelo pointed out. 

He said the OWWA is mandated to “look after their welfare,” yet in recent weeks at least eight have been reported dead, the latest a victim of apparent foul play at the hands of her employers. 

“What exactly is OWWA doing to ensure their welfare and protect them from abuse by their employers? The President should either fire all the officials of OWWA for gross neglect of duty, irresponsibility, incompetence, infidelity to their oath of office,” Castelo suggested. 

Two others – Reps. Bernadette Herrera-Dy of Bagong Henerasyon and Salvador Belaro Jr. of 1-Ang Edukasyon – have also put forth possible solutions to current OFW woes requiring urgent action.

Herrera-Dy, chair of the House committee on public information, urged the Department of Foreign Affairs and DOLE to apply diplomatic persuasion to convince Kuwait to sign and ratify four specific international conventions protecting migrant workers. 

“It would be advantageous for Kuwait to unite with the international community and make their labor laws conform with international conventions on the welfare of migrant workers,” the House assistant majority leader said. 

For his part, Belaro agrees with Bello on the need to rethink the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) program of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency. 

Belaro, also an assistant majority leader, said the POEA, Commission on Higher Education and state universities and colleges (SUCs) should team up to implement a much better replacement or version of the PDOS. 

He added that the SUCs would be the wise option to deliver the PDOS because of their presence in all provinces of the country. “The SUCs have the needed expertise to implement PDOS and at reasonable, much lower cost than the private firms that give PDOS seminars.”  – With Rudy Santos, Delon Porcalla