Following disturbing reports of maltreatment by employers, the Philippines may send less Household Service Workers out to Kuwait—if not a total ban in the country, according to Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III.
"The situation in Kuwait is really problematic. There are many complaints about how our workers are being maltreated. They are not being taken cared of properly, so we are seriously considering if not to reduce, there might be a total ban," Bello said in an interview with GMA News.
Bello – who is with the entourage of President Rodrigo Duterte – said he had tasked labor attaches to strictly monitor the situation of OFWs already in the Middle East. He said labor attaches had been warned they would be replaced if they should fail to report incidents of abuses against Filipino workers, including domestic helpers.
"The situation in Kuwait is really problematic. There are many complaints about how our workers are being maltreated. They are not being taken cared of properly, so we are seriously considering if not to reduce, there might be a total ban," Bello said in an interview with GMA News.
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President Duterte is flanked by Saudi Security as he went to speak with OFWs there during his State Visit to KSA-Bahrain and Qatar last week, April 2017. |
This follows a very similar statement made during the President's state visit to Saudi Arabia. Amid incidents of abuses committed by employers and recruiters alike, the Labor Secretary previously said the Philippine government is seriously considering a ban on the deployment of domestic helpers to Saudi Arabia.
An abused household service worker is being treated in a hospital in the Middle East. Her nationality is being withheld. |
As for implementation of the plan, Secretary Bello is expecting a delay because the government does not want to make it seem like a "retaliatory move."
"We thought about it, if we do it now, the Kuwaiti government might think that this is a retaliatory move so it has to be well-timed so that they will not consider it as a retaliatory act" he said.
It is not surprising to see images of cruelty in the Middle East. Many reports of foreign workers abused, raped or killed are heard of on a weekly basis. Many believe that the numbers are far more than what is being reported due in fact to the strict cultural practices in the said countries.
A recent video, seen above, is a good example of abuse in the Middle East. It shows a foreign household worker, believed to be Ethiopian, dangling from the window of their apartment. Employers are notoriously known to require any task from their workers, regardless of dangers. The worker is believed to be cleaning the window of their 7th floor apartment before she fell. The video was taken by her employer no less, instead of helping the poor lady.
source: GMA, PCOO
Philippines Could Possibly Stop Sending Household Workers to Saudi Arabia
![Due to the growing number of reported incidents about maltreatment and abuse experienced by Filipina HSWs in Saudi Arabia, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that they are putting into consideration a halt on deploying HSWs in Saudi Arabia unless they have the assurance of their protection against abuse and maltreatment. A royal reception was made to welcome President Rodrigo Duterte in Saudi Arabia during his meeting with Saudi Royal Highness King Salman Bin Abdulaziz al Saud. The president with members of his cabinet, embassy officials and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was received on the royal palace. In their meeting, President Duterte expressed his deep gratitude to the King for continually accepting the OFWs to work in their country. The King also thanked the President because of the contributions of OFWs for their good job quality and expertise for helping the Saudi economy afloat. A labor agreement protecting the welfare of the OFWs was signed in front of the two heads of states. "This agreement refers to the labor standards that provided our OFWs. It deals on better wages, protection from maltreatment, working hours, and other labor issues," Secretary Bello said. Bello also said that the president may bring home with him more than a hundred distressed OFW, more than a hundred of which availed the amnesty program from the Saudi Crown Prince has already arrived home. Recommended: The President assures that he will bring 250 stranded OFWs from Saudi Arabia with him when he returned to the Philippines after a series of visit in the Middle East. During his speech in Davao before his departure, he said that God-willing, he will bring some OFWs in death row with him when he return to the country. During his speech in front of the Filipino Community in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia, President Duterte said that he will be bringing home the first batch of 250 OFWs who had been stranded in Saudi Arabia for a very long time, and they will continue to do it. "We are arranging for the transportation of 250 OFWs who hopefully be back to the Philippines in time for the return of President Rodrigo Duterte.., " DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said. Secretary Bello also added that since the announcement of the Saudi Crown Prince Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Naif Al Saud about the amnesty program for expats, DOLE has already sent an augmentation team to assist the OFWs to comply with the requirements for the amnesty and a lot of them have already availed it. According to Secretary Bello, they are also working on the unpaid claims of the OFWs and they are only validating it in order to establish their claims. If they are all been verified, OWWA will be paying their money claims in advance. President Duterte will also be visiting Bahrain and Qatar after his visit to Saudi Arabia and is expected to be back in the Philippines on April 17. Recommended: "They've been given the clearance. I will fly them home. When I return, I'll be bringing some of them home, " he said during a pre-departure press briefing in Davao City. Reports saying that the Embassy officials in Saudi Arabia have been acting slow with regards to helping stranded and runaway OFWs are not entirely correct according to Philippine Consul General Iric Arribas. He also said that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the philippine Consulate in Jeddah are both providing the OFWs all the help they need which includes repatriation as well. 700 OFWs have been in jails in Saudi Arabia for various charges because there are no assistance coming from the Embassy officials, according to the reports from various OFW advocates. The OFWs are the reason why President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing through with the campaign on illegal drugs, acknowledging their hardships and sacrifices. He said that as he visit the countries where there are OFWs, he has heard sad stories about them: sexually abused Filipinas,domestic helpers being forced to work on a number of employers. "I have been to many places. I have been to the Middle East. You know, the husband is working in one place, the wife in another country. The so many sad stories I hear about our women being raped, abused sexually," The President said. About Filipino domestic helpers, he said: "If you are working on a family and the employer's sibling doesn't have a helper, you will also work for them. And if in a compound,the son-in-law of the employer is also living in there, you will also work for him.So, they would finish their work on sunrise." He even refer to the OFWs being similar to the African slaves because of the situation that they have been into for the sake of their families back home. Citing instances that some of them, out of deep despair, resorted to ending their own lives. The President also said that he finds it heartbreaking to know that after all the sacrifices of the OFWs working abroad for the future of their families they would come home just to learn that their children has been into illegal drugs. "I made no bones about my hatred. I said, 'If you do drugs in my city, if you destroy our daughters and sons, I'll just have to kill you.' I repeated the same warning when i became president," he said. Critics of the so-called violent war on drugs under President Duterte's administration includes local and international human rights groups, linking the campaign on thousands of drug-related killings. Police figures show that legitimate police operations have led to over 2,600 deaths of individuals involved in drugs since the war on drugs began. However, the war on drugs has been evident that the extent of drug menace should be taken seriously. The drug personalities includes high ranking officials and they thrive in the expense of our own children,if not being into drugs, being victimized by drug related crimes. The campaign on illegal drugs has somehow made a statement among the drug pushers and addicts. If the common citizen fear walking on the streets at night worrying about the drug addicts lurking in the dark, now they can walk peacefully while the drug addicts hide in fear that the police authorities might get them. Source:GMA {INSERT ALL PARAGRAPHS HERE {EMBED 3 FB PAGES POST FROM JBSOLIS/THOUGHTSKOTO/PEBA HERE OR INSERT 3 LINKS} ©2017 THOUGHTSKOTO www.jbsolis.com SEARCH JBSOLIS The OFWs are the reason why President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing through with the campaign on illegal drugs, acknowledging their hardships and sacrifices. He said that as he visit the countries where there are OFWs, he has heard sad stories about them: sexually abused Filipinas,domestic helpers being forced to work on a number of employers. ©2017 THOUGHTSKOTO www.jbsolis.com SEARCH JBSOLIS "They've been given the clearance. I will fly them home. When I return, I'll be bringing some of them home, " he said during a pre-departure press briefing in Davao City. The President assures that he will bring 250 stranded OFWs from Saudi Arabia with him when he returned to the Philippines after a series of visit in the Middle East. During his speech in Davao before his departure, he said that God-willing, he will bring some OFWs in death row with him when he return to the country. During his speech in front of the Filipino Community in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia, President Duterte said that he will be bringing home the first batch of 250 OFWs who had been stranded in Saudi Arabia for a very long time, and they will continue to do it. "We are arranging for the transportation of 250 OFWs who hopefully be back to the Philippines in time for the return of President Rodrigo Duterte.., " DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said. Secretary Bello also added that since the announcement of the Saudi Crown Prince Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Naif Al Saud about the amnesty program for expats, DOLE has already sent an augmentation team to assist the OFWs to comply with the requirements for the amnesty and a lot of them have already availed it. According to Secretary Bello, they are also working on the unpaid claims of the OFWs and they are only validating it in order to establish their claims. If they are all been verified, OWWA will be paying their money claims in advance. President Duterte will also be visiting Bahrain and Qatar after his visit to Saudi Arabia and is expected to be back in the Philippines on April 17. Recommended: "They've been given the clearance. I will fly them home. When I return, I'll be bringing some of them home, " he said during a pre-departure press briefing in Davao City. Reports saying that the Embassy officials in Saudi Arabia have been acting slow with regards to helping stranded and runaway OFWs are not entirely correct according to Philippine Consul General Iric Arribas. He also said that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the philippine Consulate in Jeddah are both providing the OFWs all the help they need which includes repatriation as well. 700 OFWs have been in jails in Saudi Arabia for various charges because there are no assistance coming from the Embassy officials, according to the reports from various OFW advocates. The OFWs are the reason why President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing through with the campaign on illegal drugs, acknowledging their hardships and sacrifices. He said that as he visit the countries where there are OFWs, he has heard sad stories about them: sexually abused Filipinas,domestic helpers being forced to work on a number of employers. "I have been to many places. I have been to the Middle East. You know, the husband is working in one place, the wife in another country. The so many sad stories I hear about our women being raped, abused sexually," The President said. About Filipino domestic helpers, he said: "If you are working on a family and the employer's sibling doesn't have a helper, you will also work for them. And if in a compound,the son-in-law of the employer is also living in there, you will also work for him.So, they would finish their work on sunrise." He even refer to the OFWs being similar to the African slaves because of the situation that they have been into for the sake of their families back home. Citing instances that some of them, out of deep despair, resorted to ending their own lives. The President also said that he finds it heartbreaking to know that after all the sacrifices of the OFWs working abroad for the future of their families they would come home just to learn that their children has been into illegal drugs. "I made no bones about my hatred. I said, 'If you do drugs in my city, if you destroy our daughters and sons, I'll just have to kill you.' I repeated the same warning when i became president," he said. Critics of the so-called violent war on drugs under President Duterte's administration includes local and international human rights groups, linking the campaign on thousands of drug-related killings. Police figures show that legitimate police operations have led to over 2,600 deaths of individuals involved in drugs since the war on drugs began. However, the war on drugs has been evident that the extent of drug menace should be taken seriously. The drug personalities includes high ranking officials and they thrive in the expense of our own children,if not being into drugs, being victimized by drug related crimes. The campaign on illegal drugs has somehow made a statement among the drug pushers and addicts. If the common citizen fear walking on the streets at night worrying about the drug addicts lurking in the dark, now they can walk peacefully while the drug addicts hide in fear that the police authorities might get them. Source:GMA {INSERT ALL PARAGRAPHS HERE {EMBED 3 FB PAGES POST FROM JBSOLIS/THOUGHTSKOTO/PEBA HERE OR INSERT 3 LINKS} ©2017 THOUGHTSKOTO www.jbsolis.com SEARCH JBSOLIS The OFWs are the reason why President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing through with the campaign on illegal drugs, acknowledging their hardships and sacrifices. He said that as he visit the countries where there are OFWs, he has heard sad stories about them: sexually abused Filipinas,domestic helpers being forced to work on a number of employers. ©2017 THOUGHTSKOTO www.jbsolis.com SEARCH JBSOLIS Reports saying that the Embassy officials in Saudi Arabia have been acting slow with regards to helping stranded and runaway OFWs are not entirely correct according to Philippine Consul General Iric Arribas. He also said that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the philippine Consulate in Jeddah are both providing the OFWs all the help they need which includes repatriation as well. 700 OFWs have been in jails in Saudi Arabia for various charges because there are no assistance coming from the Embassy officials, according to the reports from various OFW advocates. The OFWs are the reason why President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing through with the campaign on illegal drugs, acknowledging their hardships and sacrifices. He said that as he visit the countries where there are OFWs, he has heard sad stories about them: sexually abused Filipinas,domestic helpers being forced to work on a number of employers. "I have been to many places. I have been to the Middle East. You know, the husband is working in one place, the wife in another country. The so many sad stories I hear about our women being raped, abused sexually," The President said. About Filipino domestic helpers, he said: "If you are working on a family and the employer's sibling doesn't have a helper, you will also work for them. And if in a compound,the son-in-law of the employer is also living in there, you will also work for him.So, they would finish their work on sunrise." He even refer to the OFWs being similar to the African slaves because of the situation that they have been into for the sake of their families back home. Citing instances that some of them, out of deep despair, resorted to ending their own lives. The President also said that he finds it heartbreaking to know that after all the sacrifices of the OFWs working abroad for the future of their families they would come home just to learn that their children has been into illegal drugs. "I made no bones about my hatred. I said, 'If you do drugs in my city, if you destroy our daughters and sons, I'll just have to kill you.' I repeated the same warning when i became president," he said. Critics of the so-called violent war on drugs under President Duterte's administration includes local and international human rights groups, linking the campaign on thousands of drug-related killings. Police figures show that legitimate police operations have led to over 2,600 deaths of individuals involved in drugs since the war on drugs began. However, the war on drugs has been evident that the extent of drug menace should be taken seriously. The drug personalities includes high ranking officials and they thrive in the expense of our own children,if not being into drugs, being victimized by drug related crimes. The campaign on illegal drugs has somehow made a statement among the drug pushers and addicts. If the common citizen fear walking on the streets at night worrying about the drug addicts lurking in the dark, now they can walk peacefully while the drug addicts hide in fear that the police authorities might get them. Source:GMA {INSERT ALL PARAGRAPHS HERE {EMBED 3 FB PAGES POST FROM JBSOLIS/THOUGHTSKOTO/PEBA HERE OR INSERT 3 LINKS} ©2017 THOUGHTSKOTO www.jbsolis.com SEARCH JBSOLIS The OFWs are the reason why President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing through with the campaign on illegal drugs, acknowledging their hardships and sacrifices. He said that as he visit the countries where there are OFWs, he has heard sad stories about them: sexually abused Filipinas,domestic helpers being forced to work on a number of employers.©2017 THOUGHTSKOTO www.jbsolis.com SEARCH JBSOLIS](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xBCBNGAv5yz1OuMF_dOqKnmEs512Jq6hOCyLU0e3efiSQFBSvBA40RSGOFuNr0Ikm2wYSdgXKGKadPdv7ajrGOlU-_APDpZP6BSCEegrHk_d0KUkyYhGpNLxOO6zIb4IzuR69w/s640/000000000000000000000000000.png)
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King Salman Met With President Duterte In This Desert Paradise
![President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's recently concluded his state visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was a huge hit among locals and the huge number of OFW expatriates in the Kingdom. He was first welcomed by Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, Governor of Riyadh. The President was housed at the King Saud Royal Guest Palace. The next day, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud himself welcomed President Duterte. As seen in the video above, many are left wondering where is this place where the two leaders met. It does not seem to be in the capital city of Riyadh. Actually, that place is called Rawdat Khuraim (also known as the King's Forest). It is a green oasis, about 100 kilometers outside the capital city of this desert kingdom. Rawdat is arabic for "garden" or "meadow". This protected nature park and animal sanctuary is the favorite place for members of the Royal Family and the public to visit, especially during winter or spring time. Yes, Saudi Arabia experiences winter too. The wildlife park was formally inaugurated in 2005 by King Abdullah, who was still a Crown Prince then. The nature park is even popular among expats. It is a favorite camping place among Riyadh residents, and even for people coming from farther cities like Dammam and Khobar visit this place during holidays. Watch this short exploration video below. When visiting this oasis, you have to be well prepared. The place is HUGE and you are not allowed to go around in your car or SUV. The whole park is fenced around. Visitors usually park near the fence and walk into the park. The farther away you go into the park, the greener it gets. The park itself is divided into three areas. Two-thirds of the park is off-limits to the public. One-third of the park is for the Royal Family. Unbeknownst to many visitors, the Royal Family keeps a residence (more like a palace) within the premises. It is at this Royal Palace where King Salman hosted President Duterte with a state lunch. A third of the Rawdat Khuraim is designated as an animal sanctuary. It is off limits to everyone except the caretakers. Access to this area requires special permits. It is here where animals are free to roam around without being disturbed. The area serves as a sanctuary for various rare species such as gazelles and a plethora of other wildlife creatures not found anywhere else. Universities in Riyadh and the surrounding areas often conduct research studies in the park due to the diversity of insects, flora and fauna which can be found there. Enjoy some pictures below, including a stunning panoramic view that you can control! You can also visit this and this beautiful panoramic images of Rawdat Khuraim.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOvww2WkHNEHYKGJbG5VgC86BtwtEpbVMjlP2eR6H0gKLWwqTET4kmARIktlcRoOhcMN2oSSJffeMladx7Yl0BnOnbG3j1_JVugrn3v9zD0X-_ixUCqtlvEE3RUgpmyUkfT0s/s640/cover2.png)
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