Kuwait, 9 other countries safe for OFWs, says DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has identified 10 countries, including Kuwait where two Filipinas were brutally murdered in July, where the rights and welfare of migrant workers are protected. In a release posted on its website, the DFA said this was the initial result of the survey by Philippine embassies and other diplomatic posts, as mandated in the amended migrant workers’ law. Apart from Kuwait, other territories where the rights of migrant workers are protected, according to the DFA are: Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Laos, Myanmar, Ireland, Saipan, Norway, Syria and Vietnam. The DFA said the survey is part of the amended Republic Act (RA) 10022 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos’ Act of 1995, aimed at intensifying protection for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) by deploying them in migrant-friendly countries. Under the amended law, Philippine embassies will make a survey to certify countries under their jurisdiction if the rights of migrant workers are protected in the respective territories. The criteria for the survey are:

1. if the receiving country has existing labor and social laws protecting the rights of migrant workers;
2. if the receiving country is a signatory to and/or has ratified multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of migrant workers;
3. if the country has concluded a bilateral agreement or arrangement on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers; and
4. if the receiving country is taking positive and concrete measures to implement the first three criteria.

According to the DFA, the certification will likewise indicate what types of workers (professional, semi-skilled, unskilled, or household service workers or HSWs) are protected in the receiving countries. These certifications issued by the embassies on the receiving country's fulfillment of the four criteria will be submitted to the Governing Board of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), the release noted. The Governing Board will then decide if the receiving country can ensure protection of OFWs, and what types of workers can be deployed there. Under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10022, embassies are asked to submit the certification for countries where the Philippines maintains an embassy not later than November 11. The safety of migrant workers in countries without Philippine embassies will meanwhile be determined until December 11. “The DFA believes that the certification of countries will allow prospective OFWs to make informed decisions whether they want to work in a given country. It will also allow them to take advantage of working in a country where their rights are more protected," the release added. Despite recent news of labor violations and murder of at least two Filipinas there, Kuwait has been included in the list of countries were migrant workers can be safely deployed. In July, two Filipinas were brutally murdered in Kuwait: one was tortured to death by her employer and then left in the desert, while the other was stabbed dead at least 31 times by her Egyptian husband allegedly in a fit of jealousy. (See: 2 Pinays brutally killed in Kuwait in two separate incidents) Government agencies have likewise repatriated OFWs from Kuwait by the hundreds in the last few months, majority of whom are household service workers who ran away from their sponsors for various reasons or are overstaying in the country. Recently, however, the Kuwaiti government has said it is scrapping in February next year its sponsorship system for foreign workers, which has been described as “modern slavery." (See: Kuwait to end sponsorship system for foreign workers)—JV, GMANews.TV