ACTS-OFW Partylist expressed outrage on the recent killing of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Kuwait and called on the Philippine and Kuwaiti governments to implement a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers in the Gulf nation.
Jeanelyn Padernal Villavende, a 26-year old woman from South Cotabato was declared dead on arrival after her male employer has beaten her black and blue.
The Kuwaiti police already arrested the woman employer and her husband for interrogation, as the investigators reported that Villavende was apparently tortured and beaten by her employer several times in the past months.
In a statement, former ACTS-OFW Partylist Rep. John Bertiz asserts that only a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers in Kuwait can put an end to all reported abuses and maltreatment to our countrymen.
“Only a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers in Kuwait can put an end to all reported abuses and maltreatment to our countrymen.”
“The death of Jeanelyn is an outright violation of the agreement signed last May of 2018 by Philippine and Kuwaiti officials which seeks to uphold the protection and welfare accorded to the working Filipinos in Kuwait,” added Bertiz.
The said agreement came after the lifting of the total ban on deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait last 2018 after authorities found inside a freezer the body of domestic help Joanna Demafelis, who suffered the same fate as Villavende.
“If this can happen even with the presence of such agreement, this means we have to resort to tighter policies that can protect our Filipino workers. We keep on saying that they are our modern day heroes but we sometimes let ourselves fall short in protecting them,” the former solon said.
“If this can happen even with the presence of such agreement, this means we have to resort to tighter policies that can protect our Filipino workers.”
Bertiz added that during his stint as ACTS-OFW Partylist congressman, his office has consistently received complaints from OFWs based in Kuwait, and it involved mostly cases about maltreatment, abuse, rape, and sometimes unreported killings which made him file a resolution at the House of Representatives calling for a total ban on the deployment of Filipinos in Kuwait in 2016.
Bertiz, a known ally of the President, continues his advocacy to help the distressed and maltreated OFWs all over the world.
“A year ago, I personally helped resolve cases of more than 300 OFWs who suffered from harsh treatment and violence, and ran away from their employers,” Bertiz lamented.
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokersperson Salvador Panelo has expressed the President’s outrage on the said issue and admitted that the case has already affected Philippine-Kuwait ties.
However, the Palace, together with Labor Secretary Bebot Bello, insisted on only a partial ban after Villavende’s death, restricting new laborers to enter the Gulf nation and allowing returning and skilled employees to work business-as-usual.
“This is not going to be an easy decision for the President as we are talking about diplomatic ties with another nation. But as much as I possibly can, I will be encouraging the President to revisit the Agreement on the hiring of new workers,” Bertiz concluded.