’Filipino No Slave To Anyone Anywhere ... Everywhere’

The Philippines will ask its private airlines to evacuate its nationals from Kuwait within 72 hours after the discovery of a Filipino migrant worker dead in a freezer, the latest in what Manila calls a pattern of abuse in the Gulf state.

An emotional President Rodrigo Duterte live on television showed graphic photos of the body of a Filipina found in the freezer of an abandoned apartment in Kuwait and made a plea to Gulf states to treat his countrymen with dignity. “I implore you, I am making a plea to all Arabs, the Filipino is no slave to anyone, anywhere and everywhere,’ Duterte said. “Do not give us back a battered worker or a mutilated corpse.”

The tough-talking leader said his suspension on sending workers to Kuwait, announced in January after a series of deaths of Filipino workers, would remain indefinitely.

Drastic measures

He warned of “drastic measures” to prevent further loss of lives. He did not say what that would be. “What are you doing to my countrymen? And if I were to do it to your citizens here, would you be happy?,” he asked.

The Kuwait government could not immediately be reached for comment. Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah was last month quoted by Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA as saying that legal proceedings had been taken in the cases of four domestic workers mentioned by the president.

More than 250,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, the Philippine foreign ministry estimates, most of them as domestic helpers. There are also large numbers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “Those who want to be repatriated, with or without money I will ask PAL (Philippine Airlines) and Cebu Pacific to provide the transportation,” Duterte said. “I want them out of the country, those who want to go out, in 72 hours. We will count our lives by the hours because apparently every hour there is suffering and agony,” Duterte said.

Duterte also ordered law enforcers to arrest the recruiters of Filipino workers who died in Kuwait. He has repeatedly expressed anger about alleged abuse in Kuwait, where he said low-paid Filipinos were made to endure rape and starvation. More than 2.3 million Filipinos are documented as working abroad. Collectively they remit more than $2 billion of their income back to the Philippines every month, money that fuels consumer spending in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Family seeks justice

Members of the family of Joanna Daniela Demafelis, a Filipino household worker whose body was found in a freezer in an apartment in Shaab recently, asked for help from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in their bid to seek justice for their loved one.

ABS-CBN News quoted the mother of Joanna — Eva Demafelis — as saying: “I am appealing for government’s help in seeking justice for my daughter’s death.” It has been reported that Joanna arrived in Kuwait in 2014 and her last contact with the family was between 2016 and 2017. According to the report, the results of preliminary investigations indicate Joanna might have been tortured and strangled while the exact date of death has yet to be determined. Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in the Philippines on Friday confirmed the return of 800 undocumented Filipino workers from Kuwait.

This came after Duterte instructed Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to arrange the repatriation of Filipinos who want to come home within 72 hours. DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said the government has already booked tickets for these Filipinos, mostly household service workers, who will be repatriated in batches from Feb 11-13, 2018. Out of the 260,000 Filipinos in Kuwait; 170,000 are household service workers. A total of 10,800 are “overstaying violators,” Arriola added.

Airline unveils plan

In a related development, globalnation. inquirer.net has reported that Cebu Pacific unveiled its plan to dispatch a special flight to Kuwait for Filipino workers who want to return home. In a press statement, the airline announced, “Cebu Pacific will be mounting a special flight to Kuwait to assist our compatriots who wish to be repatriated. “We are coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Philippine Embassy in Kuwait on the airlift details and other travel arrangements. We will provide further information once these are finalized.”

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