MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights called on the Philippine government to improve its mechanisms in monitoring Filipinos working overseas and spur development in the country following the death of another domestic worker in Kuwait.
In a statement Friday, CHR commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana condemned the “gruesome” death of Jeanelyn Villavende.
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“No one should ever find themselves in harm’s way for simply seeking better opportunities abroad so they may provide for their families and loved ones at home,” Pimentel said as she urged both the Philippine and Kuwaiti governments to assure that justice will be served to Villavende and her family.
Villavende was allegedly killed by her employer’s wife, barely six months after she flew to the Gulf nation.
Pimentel said the government needs to improve its mechanisms in monitoring OFWs and preventing them from being exploited and abused.
“Closer and closer coordination mechanisms between the agencies handling Filipino migrant worker concerns—such as the Department of Labor and Employment and its attached agencies, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and our embassies—should be functioning and well placed so that any form of abuse is immediately addressed, senseless deaths are put to a stop, and swift justice is obtained by our OFWs,” Pimentel said.
The CHR commissioner also urged the government to continuously look into spurring opportunities in the Philippines “so that less and less of our workers would be forced to seek employment abroad as a matter of need—equally bearing in mind the social costs of overseas work to families left behind.”
An estimated 10 million Filipinos—roughly a tenth of the country’s population—work abroad as a way of escaping unemployment, low wages and limited opportunities in the Philippines.
Call to Kuwait
The rights body also called on the Kuwaiti government to fulfill its commitment under the agreement signed in 2018 that sought to uphold and promote the protection of the rights and welfare of Filipino workers in the Gulf state.
“With another episode of violence and abuse, the challenge is to ensure that the MOA does not remain a piece of document, but would genuinely translate to meaningful protection and promotion of the rights of our OFWs,” Pimentel said.
She added: “We are urging the Kuwaiti government to fulfil their commitments under the MOA in order to finally put a stop to these abuses and for them to uphold the Filipino workers’ rights in their country.”
The death of domestic worker Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found inside a freezer in February 2018, sparked a diplomatic crisis between the Philippines and Kuwait, which resulted in a labor deal.
Government agencies said Villavende’s death is a “clear violation” of the said labor agreement.
The POEA governing board signed Friday a resolution on the temporary and partial deployment ban to Kuwait.
“A partial deployment ban may be the response of the government as a reaction to this tragedy but a more studied and permanent solution must be found in order to put a stop to any and all forms of abuses suffered by our OFWs especially in Kuwait where we already have a MOA for the protection of our OFWs,” Pimentel said.