PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said he will ask China to accept overseas Filipino workers who will be displaced because of his decision to ban thousands of workers to Kuwait, amid concerns over reported exploitation and sexual abuse.
China, Duterte said, was “not really bad as the others” since Asians do not resort to such “barbaric form” of maltreatment.
“I will ask China to open its doors to us and I said to them that if you consider the Philippines, we would be glad to allow our workers to work here. All I ask is that, huwag ninyong abusuhin [don’t abuse them],” he said during his arrival speech after his trip to India.
Duterte reiterated that foreign employers should treat OFWs decently, adding that the country is ready to suffer even if it meant a reduced income.
“Do not destroy their dignity as a human being,” he said. “Let them sleep long enough. (One) complaint is that they’re fed with leftovers, kaya nagsu-suicide eh [that’s why they commit suicide]. Hindi na matiis [They can’t take it anymore], including rape.”
In related developments, the Commission on Human Rights lauded the government’s move to protect migrant workers in Kuwait.
“Migrant workers’ rights are human rights and we all share an obligation to make sure that our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are treated well and fairly around the world,” CHR Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana said in a statement.
“The CHR supports the government’s efforts to promote stronger protection and enhanced welfare mechanisms for our overseas Filipino workers especially those most prone to abuse and exploitation,” she added.
Gana said the Labor Department’s policy on Kuwait would “hopefully provide all stakeholders, including Kuwaiti employers and recruitment agencies, time to reflect and adopt the necessary reforms to strengthen and uphold the rights of migrant workers especially those working as domestic workers.”
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III last Jan. 20 suspended the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait, as authorities investigate the death of seven OFWs in the Gulf state.
In the same media interview, Duterte said he was prepared to lose friendship with countries if their governments allow violence and sexual abuse in the workplace—and warned of a pullout of other Filipinos working in Kuwait if another citizen dies due to abuse.
“I would like to address myself to all nations taking in Filipino as workers. All I ask is that you treat them decently. Do not destroy their dignity as a human being,” he said.
“As a worker of government, as one who also decides whether we go there or not. I will not hesitate to lose your friendship, not at the expense of the Filipino. Do not do it,” he said.
Latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data show cash remittances from Kuwait from January to November 2017 amount to $735 million (P37.5 billion).