FILE PHOTO: Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople. Screenshot from Zoom
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) assured Filipino workers displaced from Kuwait that they would receive government assistance after the emirate suspended entry visas for Filipino nationals. There were 815 Filipinos who were bound for Kuwait but whose employment was hinged and left to stay in the Philippines, Migrant Secretary Susan Ople said in an online press conference on Friday. Of these, 514 were supposed to be domestic helpers in the Gulf state. All 815 had apparently received their overseas employment certificates. Nevertheless, Ople assured that Filipino workers will be receiving financial aid worth P30,000 to “hopefully help their families and also offset some of the costs involved in the application process.” Ople added 2,849 job orders were approved by the Migrant Workers Office in Kuwait early this year, which are already being processed for Filipinos to take the jobs. Last week, Kuwait suddenly imposed a suspension on the issuance of new entry visas for Filipinos such as employment, business, student and tourism due to the Philippines’ alleged infringement on their sovereignty through Philippine-operated shelters in Kuwait. —JACOB LAZARO