MALACAÑANG said the Philippines’ ties with Kuwait had normalized as it announced the signing of a memorandum of agreement to provide legal protection to the Filipino workers in the Middle Eastern country.
‘‘Nagkaroon ng deklarasyon ang dalawang bansa na itigil na ang hidwaan and we will move on. Kaya the first step in moving on is the MoA, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque told reporters late Saturday night upon his arrival from Kuwait with 87 repatriated domestic workers.
Under the MoA, the Philippines and Kuwait will ‘‘uphold ethical recruitment policies, systems and procedures for the recruitment and employment of domestic workers, subject to the applicable laws and regulations of both parties.
Senators commended the Duterte administration for its handling of the diplomatic row with Kuwait.
“We give credit to the administration for moving quickly to diffuse the tension so as to ensure the protection and welfare of our workers,” Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said.
“We are hopeful that the signing of the MoA would really lead to better working conditions and more humane treatment of Filipinos in Kuwait to put an end to the cases of abuse.”
Senate President Koko Pimentel said the signing of the agreement was very good development.
“We should rethink the ban once the agreement is signed and all the details are in place,” he said.
Senator Joel Villanueva also praised the efforts of the Philippine and Kuwaiti governments in forging the deal on the Filipino workers.
“We hope that with this agreement, closer coordination and strict enforcement of Kuwaiti labor laws can prevent abuses against our workers,” he said.
Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III hailed the MoA between the Philippines and Kuwait that “offers far greater protection to the Filipino workers” than a previous draft.
“The signed MoA is vastly superior to the draft memorandum of understanding that we earlier rejected,” Bertiz said.
Roque said with the MoA, the Filipino workers in Kuwait will now be governed by a standard contract.
‘‘Ang importante po ay 'yung standard contract din na papipirmahan sa lahat ng empleo ng mga domestic workers, hindi lang ng mga Pilipino kung hindi 'yong mga dayuhan na nagtatrabaho bilang domestic workers.
The MoA ensures employers will provide food, housing, clothing and the registering of the domestic worker in Kuwait’s health insurance system. It also provides one month’s salary to workers for every year of service rendered after the expiration of the work contract.
The agreement was signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano and Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
“Nagkaroon na po tayo ng mga safeguards para po mapangalagaan 'yong ating mga kababayan na magtatrabaho sa Kuwait, Roque said.
He also announced the lifting of the deployment ban for skilled and semi-skilled workers to Kuwait, which he said was the next step in the normalization of diplomatic ties with Kuwait.
He said the government was also considering lifting the deployment ban on domestic workers soon.