DMW mulls Kuwait deployment ban
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Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac, together with the DMW family, visits the wake of OFW Jenny Alvarado this afternoon in Montalban, Rizal, to extend condolences and prayers to the family at this time of grief.
Photo Courtesy of DMW
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is considering a deployment ban for overseas Filipino workers to Kuwait and is reviewing the situation of long-term OFWs there before implementing new deployment policies.
This follows the recent deaths of two Filipina domestic workers, Jenny Alvarado and Dafne Nacalaban.
Alvarado, who had worked in Kuwait for almost 10 years, reportedly died after inhaling the smoke from a metal coal stove. Her remains were mixed up with that of her foreign co-worker. After her body finally arrived in the Philippines, an autopsy conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirmed the cause of death, which matched the Kuwaiti police report.
The body of Nacalaban, who had been in Kuwait for five years, was found in a state of decomposition last 31 December. A Kuwaiti national confessed to the crime, according to DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac.
“We are reviewing our deployment policy and also looking into the welfare of long-term OFWs in Kuwait,” Cacdac said on 22 January.
Currently, the deployment policy to Kuwait prohibits first-time OFWs without prior overseas experience. The DMW also enforces a whitelisting and blacklisting system for agencies, along with pre-departure briefings and electronic monitoring.
During a Senate hearing on 21 January, Senator Raffy Tulfo, chairperson of the committee on migrant workers, urged a total deployment ban to Kuwait, citing the lack of sufficient efforts by the Kuwaiti government to protect OFWs.
The DMW has asked for a week to evaluate the recommendation.
Meanwhile, there were no reported casualties among OFWs in Taiwan after a magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan on 21 January. The earthquake, centered 28 kilometers southeast of Chiayi City, caused minor to moderate damage in the areas surrounding Chiayi and Tainan.
Taiwan’s fire department reported 27 people treated for minor injuries.
The DMW confirmed through the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) branches in Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung that no OFWs were among the casualties. The MWO in Taipei reported Intensity-2 to 3 in northern Taiwan, while the MWO in Taichung reported Intensity-4 in Central Taiwan.
The earthquake followed a magnitude-7.4 quake in Hualien almost a year ago, which resulted in 13 fatalities and was Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years.
