Manila Mayor Joseph E. Estrada said he supports President Duterte’s decision to impose a total ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to Kuwait, following a tragic report on the discovery of the body of a Filipina domestic helper stuffed in a freezer in an apartment that has been abandoned by her employers for more than a year.
The slain OFW was identified as Joanna Daniela Dimapilis from Iloilo, whose body bore torture marks and indications that she was strangled to death based on the photos showed by the President to the media last Friday.
“I support our President in condemning the news that another Pinay domestic helper was killed, which, according to the report, the body was found inside a freezer,” the local chief executive said in Filipino.
“Together with all our compatriots, I strongly condemn the brutal killing of Dimapilis. She went there to work for her family, yet she suffered from the hands of her employer. How many more are being brutalized and killed? We don’t know how many more experienced the same ordeal as hers,” he added.
With such maltreatment, Duterte ordered a total deployment ban to Kuwait. This is separate from a previous order suspending the processing of new employment certificates, following pending investigation on the deaths of seven Filipinas and more than 1,000 cases of abuse in the Gulf state.
The President, likewise, directed the repatriation of OFWs in the Middle East, especially those in Kuwait, within 72 hours.
A fourth batch of 25 distressed OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Philippine Airlines flight PR 669 last Sunday from Kuwait.
Estrada agreed with the President’s decision to stop OFW deployment in Kuwait, where they are not being treated properly.
“I call on President Duterte to continue the suspension of the processing and issuance of new Overseas Employment Certificates for Kuwait-bound Filipino workers,” the mayor noted.
“What’s important is to save the lives and ensure the safety of our compatriots there. We should not let another life [be] lost like that of Dimapilis,” he pointed out.
Estrada said he agreed with Duterte in imploring the Kuwaiti government to act on the deaths of OFWs in the hands of their employers.
Recently, the President met with Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh, Kuwait ambassador in Manila, at the Malacañang Palace.
“This is a national shame,” said Duterte, who announced that he would be flying to Kuwait to speak with the leaders in the Middle East.
Based on data from the Department of Labor and Employment, around 300 Filipinos applied for work in Kuwait every day prior to the ban. There are about 250,000 OFWs working in there, mostly domestic, service workers.