Kuwait solon blames 'unconcerned' embassy for jailed OFWs

MANILA, Philippines — A Kuwaiti lawmaker accused the Philippine embassy for the huge number of Filipino expatriates in the Arab country's deportation jail.

Daily newspaper Al-Jarida said in a report on Sunday that MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari, chief of the National Assembly's human rights committee, discovered that Filipinos and Indians make the majority of inmates in the deportation center.

The parliamentary panel conducted unscheduled tours at jails and detention centers around Kuwait. The deportation center alone holds 1,047 men and 385 women, many of whom are Filipino workers, awaiting completion of their documents.

"The reason behind this is a lack of proper concern from the inmates’ respective embassies to return them home," Kandari told the daily newspaper.

Kandari claimed that the Philippine embassy has not cooperated with Kuwaiti authorities to end the deportation procedures for Filipino nationals locked up in the facilities.

He also urged Philippine officials to "look after" their citizens by cooperating in prisoner exchanges arrangements with Kuwait's foreign ministry.

Kuwaiti lawmakers, meanwhile, seek to deport 1.1 million of their country's 2.5 million expatriates as a way to address demographic issues.

"The fact that Kuwait is home to twice as many foreigners as locals is a dangerous indication about the social economic and service conditions in the country," MP Khalil Abdullah said in previous reports.