MANILA, Philippines—While it welcomes the filing of murder charges against the employers of slain Filipina domestic worker Jeanelyn Villavende, Malacañang on Tuesday said the total deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait stays.
“That’s good. That’s what we wanted, justice, and for them to be charged. We welcome that,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said partly in Filipino during a Palace press briefing.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III in a Senate hearing on Tuesday revealed that he has been informed of the filing of a murder case against a Kuwaiti couple who were Villavende’s employers. He also confirmed that one of the suspects works for Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior.
An autopsy by the National Bureau of Investigation on Villavende’s remains revealed that she sustained “multiple, severe, traumatic injuries” and there were also indications of sexual abuse.
Outraged by Villavende’s death, the government imposed a total deployment ban of OFWs to the Gulf State.
Panelo earlier said the ban will stay until Kuwait strictly implements a labor agreement with the Philippines ensuring the security and welfare of Filipino domestic helpers.
The agreement was entered into by the Philippines and Kuwait after the deaths of several Filipinos in the Gulf state, including that of Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer a year after she was reported missing. However, a string of reported abuses and deaths of OFWs have continued in Kuwait despite the signing of the agreement.