Total ban of OFW deployment to Kuwait – DOLE

MANILA — The Philippine government yesterday has ordered the total deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers to Kuwait.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed an administrative order totally banning the OFW deployment to the Gulf country pursuant to the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The order, which takes effect immediately, comes after the discovery of the body of a Filipina inside a freezer in her employer’s home in Kuwait and amid the probe into abuses and deaths of OFWs there.

According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, around 400 OFWs from Kuwait have arrived in the country Monday morning.

The repatriated OFWs would be given P5,000 financial assistance and another P20,000 for alternative livelihood.

In a briefing Friday night, Duterte called the abuses of Filipino workers a “recurring nightmare.”

The chief executive also urged the Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to provide special flights to allow the repatriation of Filipinos from Kuwait.

Last month, Duterte, who enjoyed overwhelming support from OFWs in the 2016 elections, threatened the withdrawal of the deployment of Filipinos in Kuwait.

More than 250,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.