PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday personally condoled with the family of slain overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullibee Ranara and promised various aid from the government, including financial and scholarship grants.
The President was accompanied by Sen. Mark Villar, Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar, Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople Secretary, and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Arnell Ignacio.
“I just want to offer my sympathies to the family. And to assure them that all the assistance that they might need for the family,” Marcos said as he acknowledged that Ranara had worked abroad because she had big dreams for her family.
“I assure them and together with Congresswoman (Camille) and Sen. Mark Villar and Secretary Toots Ople, we have assured the family that we will attend to all their needs. I told them, now that your daughter is gone, it is up to us to fulfill those dreams,” he added.
The President also assured scholarships for Ranada’s children to ensure they finish their education along with financial and insurance benefits due the family.
Ranara’s burnt body was found in a desert in Salmi, Al-Jahra Governorate in Kuwait. The 17-year-old-son of her employer, who was tagged as the suspect, is already under police custody.
Marcos said the Philippines and Kuwait are setting up a bilateral meeting soon to review the current labor agreement between the two countries and determine its flaws and what amendments can be done to better support and protect OFWs working in the Middle East country.
“We are also scheduling bilateral meetings with Kuwait to look at the agreement, we have to see if there are weaknesses in the agreement that allow this to happen and to make sure that those weaknesses are remedied so that the agreement is stronger and does not, will be more supportive of our workers and furthermore that we hope this will not happen again to anyone of our countrymen,” the President said.
The foreign minister of Kuwaiti has vowed justice in the killing of Ranara, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait said yesterday.
In a statement, the embassy said Kuwaiti Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah made the promise when he met with Charge d’Affaires Jose Cabrera last Sunday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to condemn Ranara’s killing.
“He condemned her murder and said that the perpetrator, who has been arrested and is currently in detention, will be punished for this heinous crime,” the embassy said, adding the foreign minister also asked Cabrera to convey his condolences to the family of Ranara and the Philippine government.
The embassy said the official also told Cabrera the action of the perpetrator does not in any way reflect the character and values of Kuwaiti society, the Kuwaiti people, and the Kuwaiti government.
The Kuwaiti official, according to the embassy, also said his government will provide the necessary assistance for the monitoring of Ranara’s case.
Cabrera expressed appreciation for the Kuwaiti authorities’ cooperation and assistance, particularly for their swift action in the arrest of the suspect as well as in expediting the release of documents for the repatriation of Ranara’s remains.
The remains of the 35-year-old Ranara were repatriated to Manila last Friday.
Earlier, Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo Dela Vega said the embassy has hired a lawyer to represent Ranara in the case.
It was not the first time a Filipina household worker was murdered in Kuwait.
In 2018 and 2019, the deaths of Joanna Demafelis and Jeanelyn Villavende prompted calls for a ban on the deployment of household workers in the oil-rich emirate.
The Duterte administration implemented a ban on the deployment of household workers to Kuwait that was only lifted in 2020 after a labor pact was signed, with Kuwait committing to ensure the protection and welfare of Filipino workers.
MIGRANTE’S CALL
Migrante International is calling on the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to push for the abolition of the “kafala” system.
In a statement, Migrante International urged the DMW to work for better OFW protection in Kuwait by pushing for the removal of the employment system common in the Gulf states.
“Migrante International calls on the Philippine government to push for measures that will alleviate the working and living conditions of Filipino domestic workers and OFWs in Kuwait,” the group said.
“In particular, (DMW must) push for reforms in, if not the abolition of, the kafala system, which has meant total employer control over domestic workers and OFWs,” it added.
Under the “kafala” system, a local citizen or local company must sponsor foreign workers in order for their work visas and residency to be valid.
In effect, the migrant worker’s right to work and legal presence in the country is dependent on the employer.
Migrante said such a move is necessary, noting that previous actions undertaken by the Philippine government have been insufficient.
Proof of this, it said, were the deaths of Ranara as well as those of Joanna Daniela Demafelis (2018), Constancia Lago Dayag (2019), and Jeanelyn Villavende (2019).
“The recent deaths and abuses suffered by our kababayans in Kuwait are not isolated incidents,” said the group. “It is clear that our appeal to Arab countries to treat OFWs with dignity and respect are failures.”
Migrante’s call comes on the heels of the proposal of the DMW to review the existing bilateral labor agreement between the Philippines and Kuwait.
The Kuwaiti government has expressed openness to the proposal, according to Ople.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo has filed a resolution directing the appropriate committee to “revisit, re-examine, and review” the existing bilateral agreement and standard employment contract concerning overseas Filipino workers in Kuwait “with the end view of establishing stricter policies, preventive measures and applicable sanctions or ban in the deployment of OFWs in Kuwait.”
“Since 2016, 196 Filipino workers have died in Kuwait, and nearly 80 percent of those deaths were due to physical abuse, according to the Philippines’ Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. In 2017, the Philippine embassy in Kuwait registered 6,000 cases of abuse, sexual harassment, and rape,” Tulfo said in the resolution.
Information provided by Tulfo’s office showed that Lourdes Hingco Abejuela died in Kuwait on December 10, 2014; Amy Capulong Santiago died upon arrival at a hospital in Kuwait on January 25, 2017; Joann Demafilis was found dead in February 2018; Ma. Constancia Lago Dayag on May 14, 2018; Jeanalyn Villavende on December 28, 2019; and Jullebee Ranara found dead on January 22 this year.
In a press conference, Tulfo said the Kuwaiti government should issue a public apology on the killings of the OFWs in its country, that its citizens show respect to the OFWs, aside from conducting a review on the bilateral agreement. — With Ashzel Hachero, Gerard Naval and Raymond Africa
