Pimentel urges gov’t to enhance PHL-Kuwait partnership

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III urged the government on Monday to further enhance the Philippines-Kuwait partnership in protecting migrant workers on the heels of a Kuwaiti court’s conviction of the couple responsible for the death of Joanna Demafelis.

Pimentel welcomed the court conviction in absentia of a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife for the murder of Demafelis whose body was found stuffed in a freezer last year.

The senator said that “we have so much more to do in directly engaging the Gulf States as far as protecting the safety and welfare of our OFWs are concerned.”

“We’re thankful that justice has been served for Joanna. Our task now is to ensure that such incidents never happen again,” he said.

“We need further high level talks and consultations with our countrymen’s host states in the Middle East to ensure that diplomatic, administrative and legal mechanisms are in place for OFW protection,” Pimentel noted.

On April 1, a Kuwaiti court sentenced to death by hanging a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife for killing the 29-year-old domestic helper.

Demafelis went missing in September 2016. Her body was found last February 6 stuffed in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait City.

Pimentel is confident that, with this development, earlier tensions between Philippines and Kuwait will normalize as they continue to pursue their longstanding diplomatic and economic relations.

“Urgent now is the mending of ties. We see Kuwait as a partner. We benefit mutually from sending our OFWs to Kuwait, and it’s in the best interest of both countries to continue resolving matters relating to reported work abuses, repatriation, lack of documentation and other key issues affecting Filipino workers there.”

Around 252,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait. The Philippine embassy has reported that 4,000 OFWs without the necessary paperwork have been repatriated and another 6,000 are waiting for amnesty from the Kuwaiti government.

Now that a Kuwaiti court has promulgated a decision on Demafelis’ case, the government should look at the bigger picture again, Pimentel said.

“Our focus should be protection of OFW rights and welfare, of course, balanced with the respect for local laws and traditions. It’s sometimes a delicate balancing act that’s why we need constant engagement with the host state,” he said.

The Senate has approved a resolution calling for a total deployment ban of Filipino household workers to countries that do not respect the rights of migrant workers and allow employers to withhold their passports.

Pimentel sponsored Senate Resolution 676 on the floor and all senators present, crossing party lines, agreed to be its co-authors. —VDS, GMA News