Also seek “thorough review” of RA 8042, bilateral pacts between PHL, Middle Eastern countries
(Eagle News) — Two lawmakers from the Gabriela Women’s Party-list on Thursday, April 26, urged a House of Representatives panel to conduct an inquiry into the reported abuses against household service workers in the Middle East.
Resolution No. 1830 that also seeks a “thorough review” of Republic Act No. 8042 or the Household Workers Policy Reform Package, and of bilateral agreements with Middle Eastern countries, was filed by Reps. Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas in the wake of Kuwait’s expulsion of Philippine ambassador Renato Villa and its recall of its Manila representative.
The recall and expulsion were done after the Kuwaiti government protested the rescue by Philippine Embassy officials of Overseas Filipino Workers who were allegedly abused by employers there.
Overseas Workers Welfare and Administration deputy administrator Arnel Ignacio said such an act was deemed illegal by Kuwait as Kuwaiti authorities were not properly informed about it beforehand.
In urging the committee on overseas workers’ affairs to conduct the probe, Brosas and De Jesus cited what they said were the 6000 cases of abuses and maltreatment cases recorded by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Kuwait in 2017.
According to the two lawmakers, OWWA also recorded 196 deaths of Filipinos in the Middle Eastern country in two years.
Brosas and De Jesus argued that the numbers therefore showed that the “case of Joanna Demafelis, a domestic helper who was killed by her employers, is not as isolated as the Philippines wants it to appear.”
Demafelis was found in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in the oil-rich country.
“Whereas, even the 2007 Policy Reform Package for Household Service Workers has not done anything significant to protect the rights and improve the conditions of our domestic workers abroad; on the contrary, it can be observed that the condition of our domestic workers has worsened since the enactment of these laws and policies,” they said.
“We are pushing for an objective and coordinated assessment of the situation of Filipino domestic helpers in the Middle East through a congressional inquiry and on-site visit,” De Jesus added in a separate statement.