Philippines mulls new ban on Kuwait deployment

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Friday that the government might reimpose a deployment ban on Kuwait after a domestic worker was killed by her employer despite an existing commitment from the Gulf nation that it would better protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Household service worker Constancia Lago Dayag not only sustained various contusions and hematoma on her body but also had a cucumber stuffed inside her privates.

The 47-year-old Dayag was rushed to the Al Sabah Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

“I am taking the Kuwaiti government to task for the gruesome death of yet another Filipino worker in the hands of her employer in Kuwait,” Bello said.

In February last year, the Philippines imposed a total deployment ban on Kuwait after authorities found inside a freezer the body of domestic help Joanna Demafelis, who was killed by her employers.

The ban was lifted three months later after Manila and Kuwait signed an agreement on the protection of  OFWs.—JOVIC YEE