Another OFW killed in Kuwait; outraged DFA summons Kuwaiti ambassador

MANILA, Philippines — Another Filipino domestic worker in Kuwait has been killed allegedly by her employer’s wife, the  Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, adding that it has summoned the Kuwaiti ambassador to Manila to express its outrage.

“The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait is coordinating closely with Kuwaiti authorities to ensure that justice will be served,” the DFA, who strongly condemned the killing, said in a statement late Monday.

“The DFA has summoned the Kuwaiti Ambassador in Manila to express the government’s outrage over the seeming lack of protection of our domestic workers at the hands of their employers,” it added.

The DFA added that it also pressed for a complete transparency in the investigation of the case as it also called for the swift prosecution of the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.

In February 2018, the Philippines imposed a total deployment ban on Kuwait after authorities found the body of domestic helper Joanna Demafelis inside a freezer. She was killed by her employers.

The ban was lifted three months later after Manila and Kuwait signed an agreement on the protection of overseas Filipino workers.

The employer of Demafilis was later found guilty of murder.

In May 2018, another overseas Filipino worker died in the hands of her employer.

Ma. Constancia Dayag, 47, was reportedly found covered in bruises and with a “cucumber” inside her private part. She was rushed to the Al Sabah Hospital in Kuwait but was declared dead on arrival.

“The continuing incidents of violence and abuse of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait violates the spirit of the agreement signed in May 2018 that seeks to promote and protect their welfare,” the DFA went on.

Edited by MUF