Report on Kuwait OFW Deployment Ban Denied

Philippines’ Ambassador to Kuwait has denied a report that Manila is officially banning Filipino domestic workers from deployment in the country.

“The last update I received from the team that visited Kuwait last week was that the committee in the House of Representatives will review the Migrant Workers Act,” Shulan Primavera told Kuwait Times. “So far, we have not received any official statement or information from Manila, and all of my sources are denying that an official announcement has been issued,” he said.

Several sources have reported that Manila had officially announced that it was suspending the process of sending domestic workers to Kuwait indefinitely until new legislation is introduced to protect them.

The head of the Domestic Workers’ Union in the Philippines had previously said that what she had seen during her recent visit to Kuwait helped explain why Manila has been contemplating the introduction of such a decision for some time.

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Filipinos in Kuwait Launch Donation Drive for PHL Typhoon Victims

A massive donation drive to help the victims of the two horrendous typhoons that hit the Philippines in recent days has been launched by the Filipino community in Kuwait.

Nearly 70 people have been confirmed dead in the typhoons, while many are still missing and over 160,000 people remain at evacuation centres awaiting immediate assistance.
The drive in Kuwait is being spearheaded by the Filipino Badminton Committee (FBC) in coordination with the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) and the Filipino Cultural Club, the Bicolanos in Kuwait, Fil Aseak, the Philippine Amateur Basketball Association in Kuwait and the Beta Sigma Fraternity (Kuwait Chapter).

“What we launched is collecting donations from our members but all in kind,” Dr Chie Umandap, the FBC Chairman, said. “We would like to discourage donations in cash because we are not from government agencies and cannot process such donations. What we are accepting are token donations of canned goods, noodles and medicines, maybe clothes and something to keep bodies warm amidst massive flooding,” Umandap said, quoted by Kuwait Times daily on Tuesday.

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Repatriation for Over 900 OFWs From Saudi and Kuwait

Over 900 Filipinos who violated their conditions of stay in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been repatriated back to the Philippines since June 2011, Vice President Jejomar Binay said.

Nine-hundred one Filipinos have been sent back home following his visit to the two Middle East countries. In Kuwait, 111 female overseas Filipinos who have sought refuge at the Philippine Overseas Labour Office(Polo)-Owwa Filipino Workers Resource Centre have been repatriated through the Vice President’s intervention. About 790 Filipinos stranded for years at the Hajj Seaport Terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were also sent home.

“Many of our kababayans (countrymen) facing difficulties abroad are clamouring for government to help them return home, so we are continuing our efforts to reunite then with their families,” says Binay, the country’s Presidential adviser on overseas workers affairs.

For various reasons — including absconding from employers and terminated from work — OFWs have been unable to return to the Philippines through legal means. With assistance from the government, through Mr Binay, overseas Filipinos were provided help on travel documentation and discounted air tickets.

Binay said he is exploring various means to bring OFWs while encouraging the private sector to help in the repatriation. There are currently 994 Filipino migrant workers stranded worldwide as of August this year, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

UAE, Kuwait, Qatar Face Ban on Filipino Maids

Filipino maids At Kuwait Airport. Photo credit: Arab Times

The Philippines government could soon issue a ban on the deployment of domestic workers to three Gulf countries because it says it cannot guarantee their protection.

According to media reports from Manila on Friday, the deployment of household service workers (HSW) to Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar could grind to a halt after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recommended a ban.

Filipino maids are currently subject to a separate ban from Saudi Arabia after the kingdom said it was seeking new sources for foreign workers.

The Department of Labour and Employment said it had made the recommendation after the three countries failed to comply with Republic Act 10022 or the Amended Migrant and Overseas Filipino Workers Act of 1995, Manila newspapers reported.

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Kuwaiti Police Search for Overseas Filipino Worker’s American BF

Kuwaiti police want to speak with a Cebuana overseas worker’s American boyfriend, as they prepare to wrap up an investigation on her death.

nother contract worker reportedly saw Juvy Montesoso, 32, with her boyfriend on the night before she was found dead at the base of an eight-floor building.
Relatives of Montesoso also clarified she was still covered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) at the time of her death last August 5, contrary to an earlier report quoting the local Owwa office.

The Kuwaiti police are waiting to hear from Sergeant Major Thomas Milliken, the American serviceman who was reportedly dating Montesoso.

Cynthia Tecson-Ricaplaza, officer-in-charge of the Department of Foreign Affairs Regional Consular Office in Cebu, wrote a letter to Rochelle Montesoso, Juvy’s sister.

In it, she informed the family that Fahad Al Azmi, the officer on the Montesoso case, turned over Juvy’s personal belongings to Daligdig Tanandato.

Tanandato reportedly heads the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait’s unit in charge of assisting nationals. He learned from Al Azmi that the local police “had yet to hear the side of the deceased Filipina’s American boyfriend.”

Al Azmi also asked Tanandato to provide the names of Filipinos who might have more information.

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