In the wake of the brutal murder of Filipina domestic helper, Jullebee Ranara, last week, the government of Philippines has suspended the accreditation of foreign recruitment agencies (FRAs) in Kuwait, until new regulations are put in place to send workers.
Work on setting new regulations for the accreditation process, job applications and employment contracts by the Philippine Financial Supervisory Authority is currently underway. In future, only FRAs with a clean record or those without a nursing home resident, and those without an application for assistance, will have their applications for workers processed, said Catherine Doladol, who is responsible for the office of migrant workers in Kuwait.
She added that FRAs will also be required to obtain clearance from the Office of Migrant Workers Administration in the Philippines before accepting their papers for processing. Additionally, they will have to submit a monthly monitoring report on the workers employed by them.
Head of the Department of Foreign Workers’ Welfare, Arnel Ignacio, noted that an average of 20 Filipino workers in Kuwait seek refuge in the government-run shelter in Kuwait. He added that the Kuwaiti government is already preparing a larger shelter to accommodate all distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) seeking help.
