Deployment ban to Kuwait now under review

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is considering a deployment ban for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait, while also reviewing the situation of long-term OFWs in the country prior to the implementation of new deployment policies.

This review follows the recent deaths of two Filipina domestic workers, Jenny Alvarado and Dafne Nacalaban.

Alvarado, who had worked in Kuwait for almost 10 years, allegedly passed away from suffocation. Her remains were accidentally repatriated with those of her foreign co-worker.

Police reports received by the DMW indicated that Alvarado died due to suffocation from a metal coal stove. An autopsy conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on 17 January matched the findings in the police report.

Meanwhile, Nacalaban, who had been in Kuwait for five years, was found dead in a decomposed state on 31 December. The prime suspect, a Kuwaiti national, has admitted to the crime, according to a statement by DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac on Saturday, 18 January.

"We are reviewing our deployment policies and also looking into the welfare of long-term OFWs who are in Kuwait," DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said in a statement on Wednesday, 22 January.

The current deployment policy to Kuwait prohibits first-time OFWs with no prior overseas experience. A whitelisting and blacklisting of agencies is also enforced, along with pre-departure briefings and electronic monitoring systems.

In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, 21 January, Committee on Migrant Workers chairperson Senator Raffy Tulfo called for a total deployment ban to Kuwait, citing the Kuwaiti government’s insufficient efforts to safeguard OFWs. The DMW requested a week to evaluate the recommendation.