Hontiveros hits Duterte appeal for Kuwait OFWs to come home

Senator Risa Hontiveros (right) criticized the appeal of President Rodrigo Duterte (left) for OFWs in Kuwait to return to the Philippines, saying there was no job stability in the country. INQUIRER FILES

Senator Risa Hontiveros slammed on Sunday the appeal of President Rodrigo Duterte for over 260,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait to return home.

Hontiveros said that the President was gambling with the lives of the Filipino overseas workers for there was no job stability for them in the country.

“It is extremely reckless, shortsighted and uncaring. President Duterte should stop gambling with the lives and employment of thousands of OFWs, and the welfare of their families, in a desperate attempt to break the diplomatic impasse with Kuwait. This is not a game. We are talking about the lives and future of our OFWs and their loved ones,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

Duterte appealed to OFWs in Kuwait to return to the country after Kuwait expelled the Philippine ambassador for launching rescue missions for Filipinos abused by their employers in the Gulf state.

Prior to that, Duterte ordered the repatriation of thousands of OFWs from Kuwait where they were allegedly maltreated. Thousands more were reportedly undocumented workers illegally staying in the Middle Eastern country.

Also earlier, the President was enraged when Filipino domestic helpers were killed in the Gulf nation after reportedly being abused by their employers. The case of Joana Demafelis, who was murdered and stuffed inside a freezer for a year, prompted Duterte to suspend the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait.

Duterte made the ban permanent on Sunday.

Hontiveros said that it was ironic for the President to invite the 260,000 household workers in Kuwait to return home when Duterte could not even sign the Executive Order that addresses the concerns of workers in the country.

“Are we even talking about the same Philippines? President Duterte is promising our OFWs jobs back in our country when he can’t even sign an Executive Order (EO) to address labor contractualization and protect the workers’ security of tenure. His administration doesn’t even have an alternative economic strategy to the country’s labor export policy,” the senator said.

Duterte has repeatedly said that he could not ban contractualization because it was allowed by the Labor Code. He said only Congress could amend the law and prohibit contractualization.

Hontiveros filed Senate Bill 271, or the Security of Tenure Bill, “to protect workers from unscrupulous and discriminatory contracting and sub-contracting.” While seeking to strengthen the security of tenure of workers in the private sector, the bill “recognizes subcontracting as a valid business practice.”

“Like any Filipino, I dream of the day that our kababayan will not go abroad just to earn a decent living. I want them to come home and end the Filipino diaspora. But I want them to return to a Philippines where regular and decent jobs abound, where their children can pursue their dreams and where peace not death reigns in our communities. Sadly, this is not the Philippines under President Duterte,” she added.

She then urged Duterte to think over his decision and to conduct extensive meeting with other members of the administration in order to find a concrete solution to the problem of the OFWs.

“I appeal to the President to think this through. This is not the time for cavalier diplomacy. I urge him to conduct extensive foreign policy and labor dialogues and consultations with his Cabinet, the Legislature, foreign affairs experts, labor groups and other stakeholders to find a truly diplomatic and sustainable solution to this crisis,” Hontiveros said. /cbb