Duterte threatens to ban Filipinas from working in Middle East

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday threatened to ban hundreds of thousands of Filipinas from working as maids in the Middle East as he said domestic workers were being raped in Kuwait.

Over two million Filipinos, many of them maids, are employed in the region, helping to prop up the Philippine economy with billions of dollars in salary remittances to their families each year.

Last week, Duterte barred Filipinos from seeking work in Kuwait over reports of widespread abuse, exploitation and deaths, although the ban did not affect workers already in the Gulf state.

“One more incident about a woman, a Filipina worker being raped there, committing suicide, I’m going to stop — I’m going to ban” Filipinos working, he said.

“And I’m sorry to all the Filipinos there that they can all go home.”

“Let me be blunt about this because Kuwait has always been an ally. But please do something about it and for the other Middle Eastern countries.”

A visibly angry Duterte was speaking shortly before boarding a flight for India to attend a regional summit.

“Can I ask you now to treat my countrymen as human beings with dignity?” he added.

Duterte said last week that four Filipinas had died in Kuwait over the past few months in apparent suicides.

Kuwait said on Wednesday it was still awaiting details from the Philippines about the cases and expressed surprise about Duterte’s new allegations.

“We have explained our position to the Filipino officials on the cases mentioned by the president and asked them for details,” said deputy foreign minister Khaled al-Jarallah.

Jarallah said Filipino workers were still welcomed in Kuwait, and that the rights of foreign workers are guaranteed in the emirate.