Ban OFW deployment to Kuwait – lawmaker

MALASIQUI, Philippines – Pangasinan Rep. Rose Marie Arenas has called for a ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait following the execution of a Filipina domestic helper convicted of killing her employer’s daughter.

Arenas who represents Pangasinan’s third district, urged the Philippine government to suspend sending OFWs to Kuwait until the Kuwaiti government signs bilateral labor agreements on recruitment and employment of domestic workers.

She issued a statement following the execution of Jakatia Pawa in Kuwait last Wednesday, saying that the death of a Filipino worker is a tragic reminder of our failure to protect them. 

Arenas, a member of the congressional Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, organized a special briefing for members of Congress about the condition of OFWs in the Middle East on Tuesday, a day before the hanging to death of Pawa in Kuwait.

She will deliver a privilege speech next week on her proposal to protect the rights of Filipino workers abroad. Arenas will also recommend the creation of an inter-agency task force to include members of trade unions and non-government organizations to monitor the cases of all OFWs in death row abroad.

Pawa, a native of Zamboanga del Norte, was executed in Kuwait after she was convicted of stabbing to death the daughter of her employer in 2007.