A high-powered delegation from the Philippines headed by Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III arrived in Kuwait on Saturday, to hold discussions with Kuwaiti counterparts on the agreement reached between the two sides in 2018, on the deployment of Overseas FIlipino Workers (OFW) to Kuwait and their safety and protection in the country.
Secretary Bello who is in the country at the invitation of the Kuwaiti sides is also to discuss the latest ban on deployment of OFWs to Kuwait, following the recent brutal murder of Jeanelyn Villavende by her employers.
The delegation accompanying the Secretary includes Undersecretary Claro Arellano of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia, and OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac. The three DOLE officials are part of the country’s delegation to the Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) to be held between the two sides.
Background:Over a month ago, on 29 December, police were summoned to Sabah Hospital after Jeanelyn Villavende a 26-year-old Filipina household worker was brought in there dead, with injuries and bruises all over her body. Since that day, diplomatic relations between Kuwait and the Philippines have soured, with the Philippines imposing a total ban on deployment of Filipino household workers to Kuwait. For its part, Kuwait contends that the Philippines acted in haste, as the culprits have been apprehended and the matter is now before the courts.
On 5 May, 2019, Jeanelyn Villavende arrived in Kuwait to work as a domestic helper with a Kuwaiti family. She had high hopes of supporting her family and giving them a better life from her income in Kuwait. Sadly, less than eight months after her arrival, on 29 December she was reported dead.
Following autopsy in Kuwait the body was repatriated to the Philippines where doctors conducted another autopsy which revealed signs of physical abuse dating back weeks before her death. and bruises on her private parts indicated that she had been sexually abused.
An interior ministry official and his wife are detained following the death of their Filipina maid; Public Prosecutor Dherar Al Asousi charged the Kuwaiti couple with the premeditated murder of Jeanalyn Villavende and referred them to stand trial at the Criminal court. A source said that the Public Prosecution had asked the court for a tough sentence against the couple, which may involve the death penalty. Meanwhile, the couple was remanded for 21 days at the central prison.
The Philippines Response:The Philippine government was enraged and is seeking justice for the death of another overseas worker in Kuwait. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in the Philippines issued a statement deploring the continued attacks against Filipino household workers in Kuwait. The Home Office in Manila summoned Kuwait’s ambassador in the Philippines to protest “the seeming lack of protection” of Filipino domestic workers at the hands of their employers
“The continuing incidents of violence and abuse of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait violates the spirit of the agreement signed in May 2018 that seeks to promote and protect their welfare,” a DFA statement said. Calling for “complete transparency” in the investigation of the case, the DFA pressed Kuwait to ensure “swift prosecution of the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law”.
In 2018, following numerous instances of abuses and even deaths of Filipino domestic workers, the Philippines government had enforced a deployment ban that sparked a diplomatic spat between the two countries. The ban was lifted only after an agreement was signed by Kuwait to protect Filipino domestic workers in the country. There are more than 250,000 Filipinos employed in Kuwait, mostly as household workers.
The Philippines has instituted a ban on deployment after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) autopsy report. The deployment ban would cover all newly-hired domestic workers or household service workers, semi-skilled workers, skilled workers and professionals, including crew changes and shore leaves of Filipino seafarers in Kuwait
Kuwait Response: Responding to the total deployment ban, Kuwait’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Ambassador Samie Al-Hamad voiced Kuwait’s dismay at the Philippine government’s decision. The move by the Philippines came despite the legal action taken by concerned Kuwaiti authorities in the aftermath of the killing of a Filipino in Kuwait, Al-Hamad said in a press statement.
“As we express our extreme sorrow at this appalling crime, which is uncommon in the Kuwaiti society and even against our Islamic values, the legal action was taken against the culprits, including arresting them and filing a case with the Public Prosecution. This reflects Kuwait’s keenness on applying the law and ensuring justice to guarantee the safety and protection of all those living on its soil, and that’s why it is a favorable destination for people of different nationalities, including Filipinos who are nearly a quarter-million workers in number,” he said.
