OFW eyes charges against alleged abusive employer in Kuwait

An overseas Filipino worker who worked in Kuwait has sought the help of authorities in filing charges against her female employer for alleged physical abuse.

Catherine Peneula, who is now back in her hometown in Sultan Kudarat, recalled the alleged abuse started in 2019 but escalated this year.

She recently suffered blows on various parts of her body including her head after her employer supposedly hit her with a wooden stick and a shoe last January 23, Raffy Tima reported on “24 Oras” on Tuesday.

“Hinampas niya po ako dito, pati dito, pati sa ulo...mainit ang ulo niya,” she said.

(She hit me here, and on my head, because she was mad.)

“Nakita ng amo kong lalake, sinalba niya ako. Dinala niya ako sa bahay ng nanay ng  amo kong lalaki…’yung amo kong lalaki ang nagdala sa akin,” she added.

(My male employer saw what happened and helped me. He brought me to his mother’s house.)

Peneula said she heard the news of the death of fellow OFW Jullebee Ranara while in recovery, prompting her to ask her employers to send her back home.

Her male employer agreed and bought her plane tickets and paid her salary.

“Nung nasa airport nanghingi siya ng sorry sa akin, sabi niya sorry sa ginawa ng asawa ko, sabi ko 'walang problema, pinapatawad kita pero yung asawa mo hindi ko mapatawad’,” she added.

(He apologized on behalf of his wife when he brought me to the airport. I told him I can forgive him but not his wife.)

Penuela is now coordinating with the Department of Migrant Workers and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) regarding her case.

Myla Balbag still in hospital

Meanwhile, Myla Balbag, the OFW who jumped from a building to escape her employer, is still being treated in the hospital.

She remains immobile as she undergoes therapy due to multiple fractures including broken legs and numbness on the lower part of her body.

Balbag declined to issue a statement on her lawyer’s advice after her employer filed a case against her.

OWWA said it is ready to assist Balbag and other OFWs who are experiencing abuse from their employers.

Temporary deployment ban sought anew

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday called on the DMW to reconsider imposition of a temporary deployment ban against Kuwait amid the "pattern of abuse" against overseas Filipino workers.

In a television interview, Hontiveros reiterated her support for Senator Raffy Tulfo who has been pushing for a deployment ban since the death of Jullebee Ranara.

"I actually supported the call of Sen. Raffy for a consideration of that deployment ban at least until these cases are resolved and until our government agencies can compel and come to a firmer agreement with the government of Kuwait not only to bring justice to the victims and the victim survivors so far but to prevent the recurrence kasi hindi ito ngayon lamang," Hontiveros said in an interview on CNN Philippines.

"This has been a pattern of abuse against our migrant workers. Kailangan madala sa hustisya ang mga perpetrators at mas siguruhin ang gobyerno ng Kuwait na hindi ito mangyayari muli," she added.

The deployment ban should also be mulled considering that Kuwait is not a signatory  to the International Labor Organization's Domestic Workers Convention, she emphasized.

"So I really hope the DMW will give serious thought to this temporary deployment ban," she said.

GMA News Online has sought Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople's comment on Hontiveros' call but she has yet to respond as of posting time.

Ople earlier said that the DMW is not considering a deployment ban against Kuwait following Ranara's death as she explained that the crime was committed by a Kuwaiti national but not by the government itself.

But the DMW has issued an order for the preventive suspension of Ranara's employer on January 28.

Senator Tulfo had filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the existing bilateral agreement between the Philippine and Kuwaiti governments on OFW deployment.—Hana Bordey/Sundy Locus/LDF, GMA Integrated News