A ‘toothless’ deal

Ihave not met ACTS-OFW Rep. Aniceto “John” Bertiz III in person, but I am impressed with his views on current issues. His latest comment on the proposed “memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Philippines and Kuwait, for instance, has him dismissing it as a “toothless deal,” far from protecting domestic workers in the oil-rich emirate.

The draft, according to Rep. Bertiz III, “does not guarantee terms set forth by President Duterte himself.”

“It is basically a vague promise. It does not guarantee fulfillment of the terms set forth by President Duterte himself,” Bertiz, of Quezon City, said.

The draft agreement does not spell out enforcement mechanisms such as labor inspections, and fails to specify the penalties for Kuwaiti employers who deprive Filipino domestic workers of their rights, he says.

“Without the means of enforcement or coercion, we cannot expect reasonable compliance by Kuwaiti employers,” Bertiz said.

Bertiz warns that Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait would “remain at high risk of getting mistreated and exploited, even if the agreement is signed.”

He should know the plight of domestic workers abroad, as he himself was an overseas Filipino worker. Below is Bertiz’s comment: “When Mr. Duterte first imposed a temporary ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait, he listed his own demands before he would consider lifting his injunction.

“He demanded that Filipino domestic workers should be allowed to possess their passports; keep their cell phones so they can get in touch with their families; enjoy adequate rest, including at least seven hours of daily sleep as well as holidays so they do not end up as slaves; and have the option to prepare their own meals to ensure they are eating enough and not mere scraps.

“Mr. Duterte has since made “permanent” the temporary deployment ban.

“The common abuses against Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait include passport and phone confiscation, long working hours with no rest days, food deprivation, non-payment of wages, physical and sexual assault, and lack of clear channels for redress, according to the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs.

“In the proposed MOU, the employer is ‘not allowed to keep in his possession’ the domestic worker’s passport, but there is no penalty indicated for the erring employer,” Bertiz says.

“The draft also states that the employer is supposed to ‘allow the use of cell phones,’ but does not guarantee the worker’s right to keep and use her phone. There is also no penalty stipulated for the employer who seizes the worker’s phone,” Bertiz says. “The draft merely provides Filipino domestic workers unspecified “hours of rest” and does not indicate the minimum seven hours of sleep demanded by the President.

“The draft also states that the employer is supposed to provide the worker with food, but does not specify how many times a day. It also does not give the worker the option to cook her own food, as demanded by the President.

Bertiz also notes the lack of a sick leave provision in the draft, which he says merely states that employers are supposed to “provide medical treatment if the worker is injured on the job.”

Bertiz urges the Kuwaiti government to stop punishing Filipino domestic workers who escape from their abusive employers.

“Right now, a domestic worker who flees from a cruel employer automatically faces absconding charges under Kuwait law, and is subject to arbitrary detention and imprisonment.

“This effectively traps the worker. She does not have her passport and her phone, and she does not have a clear channel of redress, so her only option is to get out and seek refuge in the Philippine embassy, and yet she still faces absconding charges.”

Bertiz does not discount the possibility that large labor recruiters, especially illegal recruiters, are pushing for the “toothless deal” just so they could start making money again for themselves “at the expense of our workers.”

“It seems they want the President to quickly lift the deployment ban, so they are pushing for this MOU, even if it actually guarantees nothing,” the ACTS party-list representative said.

Of the 260,000 Filipinos in Kuwait, 170,000 are domestic workers. They account for one-fourth of the 660,000 mostly Asian and African domestic workers in the emirate.

*** FROM ANOTHER FRONT: The Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have signed a memorandum of understanding as partners for women empowerment, under the anti-poverty program, Angat Buhay, at the Office of the Vice President in Quezon City.

The OVP and UNFPA come together for the Babaenihan campaign to empower Filipinas, with the objective of reaching out to marginalized girls and women throughout the country.

The Babaenihan campaign focuses on raising awareness on potential challenges of Filipino girls, strengthening LGU involvement in empowering women, sharing good practices on reproductive health, and gender-based violence prevention and response.

This OVP-UNFPA partnership aims to achieve sustainable development

goals by ensuring that all women’s rights including reproductive health are protected, that they are able to find decent work, and that they are able to contribute to the sustainable economic growth of the country.

“We look forward to working with the Office of the Vice President to empower girls and women so that no one is left behind,” said UNFPA Country Representative Klaus Beck. “Empowering the 10 million Filipino girls aged 10-19 years old to realize their full potential, is critical to the Philippines’ social and economic development,” Beck said.

The Angat Buhay program of the OVP brings together partners from the public and private sectors and marginalized communities. Partnerships focus on issues concerning education, universal healthcare, rural development, food security and nutrition, housing and resettlement, and women empowerment.

*** It felt good attending the 87th birthday celebration of a dear former colleague, Tessie Mariano, at the Merville Village parish church last Sunday. Tessie, along with Suzy Aunario, ran the Manila Daily Bulletin library, where we hied off to for breathers, and confessions about crushes we had and lost loves. They were both good listeners to us young writers. After EDSA 1, we parted ways, got together for reunions (seldom) and then, at her birthday party last Sunday organized by her caring children.

Tessie joined the Manila Daily Bulletin in 1949 when she was 18 as she also attended college. Her father, Getulio Abanilla, was Bulletin cashier even before the war when Carson Taylor was still the publisher and until his retirement when he reached the age of 75. She spent most of her years in the Bulletin library, through three owners: Taylor, Hans Menzi and Emilio Yap. After the Bulletin, she worked briefly selling encyclopedias.

Her children were toddlers when they were brought to the office by their dad, Crispin “Dody” when he picked up Tessie every day from work. He died in 1976 at age 46. He would have been 89 today.

Now they’ve become parents, too. Melinda is married to Ricky Domingo, an engineer. They have three kids – Nikki, Gino and Miguel. Mel is into HR.

Jody, who sells advertising for TFC/ABS-CBN, married Badette Quintana, who is into HR. Their children are Justin, Nadine and Annika.

Anthony works for a company that provides “special tech-voc skills training. He is married to ballet dancer/teacher Annette Cruz by whom he has two daughters, Cara and Bela.

Gary, the boy closest to me, a communication specialist at Dela Salle University, and wife Bel, a lawyer, are blessed with five kids, Marla, Lorenzo, David, Maggie and Regina.

So Tessie has 13 great grandchildren, who call her “Mommy ‘Ess” (because Marla, her first apo, couldn’t pronounce the letter “T”). Happy birthday, dear Tessie.

* * * Email: dominitorrevillas@gmail.com H