Following the horrifying reports about Filipina domestic helper Myla Balbag who was paralyzed after escaping her employer last week in Kuwait, Senator Raffy Tulfo reiterated his proposal of a total labor deployment ban in the said Middle East country.
The senator stressed that he wants to pull out overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait after news about Balbag and Jullebee Ranara, whose body was charred and was found at a desert on January 22 came out.
Balbag, who told reporters that she was physically abused by her employer after being caught using social media Tiktok, was paralyzed after attempting to escape through the window on the third floor of her employer’s house, which led to her fall.
30-year-old Balbag was brought to Al Jaber Al Sabah Hospital on January 21.
The incident was followed by Ranara’s death, her body allegedly burned by her employer’s son, and was dumped in a desert in Kuwait on Sunday, January 22.
Authorities there have since arrested the 17-year-old son of Ranara’s employer.
Tulfo, who chairs the Senate committee on migrant workers, admitted that consequences of the deployment ban can be expected, but that would signal “a very strong message” to save OFWs from suffering the same fate as Balbag and Ranara.
“We can enter into bilateral agreements but our terms should be clear and unequivocal. If there are violators to such agreements, we have to prioritize the welfare of our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and act at the soonest possible time. Make these violators accountable and liable without concession and pursuant to our laws and international conventions,” Tulfo said.
The senator also cited that his radio program ‘Wanted sa Radyo,’ had received complaints and calls for assistance from other OFWs in Kuwait.
“We have almost two million OFWs all over the world and about 100,000 to 120,000 migrant workers are still working in Kuwait. Let us not wait until one or more of them would come home wounded, beaten black and blue or a corpse like what happened to Jullebee,” Tulfo said in Tagalog.