Philippines seeks diplomatic solution, workers’ protection after Kuwait visa suspension

Philippine workers returning home from the Gulf arrive at Manila International Airport. (File/AFP)

• PEACEME estimates that thousands of Filipino workers will be affected
• Kuwait suspension also applies to tourist, business and student visas

MANILA: The Philippine government said on Friday it was looking for a diplomatic solution and “maximum protection” for its workers in Kuwait after a suspension of the issuance of visas for Filipinos.
Some 290,000 Filipinos, mostly women, work in Kuwait, which has recently been under the scrutiny of Philippine authorities following multiple abuse cases and the murder of a Filipino maid, which in February prompted Manila to suspend the deployment of first-time workers to the Gulf state.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement it was informed by the government of Kuwait that it had “suspended the issuance of new entry visas for PH nationals into Kuwait effective immediately until further notice.”
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo De Vega told Arab News the government has yet to decide how to address the situation.
“Everything can be discussed and resolved diplomatically, in a manner that shall afford maximum protection and full access to justice for our nationals in Kuwait,” he said.
“Various government agencies will discuss the next steps to be taken.”
While the suspension on new visas overlaps the Philippine ban on first-time worker deployment to Kuwait, DFA Assistant Secretary Paul Cortes said the measure also applies to tourist, business and student visas.
“There is now a ban for those who will be entering Kuwait for the first time,” he told Arab News.
“At the same time the assurance is as long as you have the iqama (residence visa), you will be allowed entry to Kuwait.”
The reasons for the suspension were not immediately clear and a Philippine delegation was expected to soon visit the Gulf state.
“Hopefully in the next few weeks we are able to get to visit Kuwait. There were planned, scheduled talks with Kuwait not necessarily on this issue but on our bilateral labor agreement,” Cortes said.
“As always, whatever issue the Philippines has with any country on a bilateral basis, we try to settle and resolve it amicably. And this we have to do in the purview of protecting the interest of the Filipino nationals who are still there.”
The Philippine Employment Agencies and Associates for Corporate Employees in the Middle East, or PEACEME, estimates that thousands of them will be affected by the visa suspension.
“With the announcement, we can’t deploy in Kuwait anymore ... those who were already interviewed and selected by employers, we can no longer apply for visas for them,” PEACEME president Arnold Mamaclay told Arab News.
The organization will try to find employment for them in other Middle Eastern countries.
“If there will be available jobs for them in other markets, then we will have to endorse them. But there’s no guarantee,” Mamaclay said.
“At the end of the day it depends on our clients in other countries, other industry if the candidates will match with what they need.”