The Philippines government is said to be considering reinstating the ban on deployment of household workers to Kuwait, in the wake of yet another gruesome murder of a Filipina at the hands of her Kuwaiti sponsor.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Manila said it was closely monitoring the investigation into the death of Filipino household service worker (HSW) in Kuwait. The victim, identified as Jeanelyn Padernal Villavende, allegedly died after having been beaten up by her Kuwaiti employer.
“The department looks forward to the swift resolution of the case and hopes that justice will be served to Villavende and her family,” DOLE said in a statement. It added that the incident was “a clear violation of the agreement signed by both Kuwait and the Philippines in 2018, that seeks to uphold and promote the protection of the rights and welfare of our workers in the Gulf state.”
In 2018, DOLE temporarily stopped the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) bound for Kuwait, after the death of HSW Joanna Demafelis, whose remains were found stuffed in a freezer at her Lebanese employer’s house in Kuwait. The deployment ban was lifted in May 2018 after Kuwait and the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on protection for Filipino workers in Kuwait.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila has summoned the Kuwaiti ambassador to protest “the seeming lack of protection” of OFWs in Kuwait, despite the signed MoU.
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