Philippine President And Crown Prince Commit To Mending Labor Relations

The Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Kuwait's Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah have expressed their intention to address labor issues between their countries.

HH the Crown Prince promised to fix the labor agreement between the two countries, Marcos said. Marcos met with HH the Crown Prince on Friday during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

During an interview with the Philippine media following his meeting with thousands of Filipinos in Riyadh, Marcos revealed that HH the Crown Prince had a pull-away meeting with him, who told him he was unhappy with the current Philippine-Kuwait relationship and that the Philippines should not apologize.

HH the Crown Prince apologized instead, saying he disagreed with what his people were doing.

The words he used were, 'Do not listen to them.' I do not agree with what they have been doing.’ And, in fact, he said, ‘I do not want…There is no reason for you to apologize to us,’” Marcos said.

'We will fix it and we will make it because we love the Philippines.' Then he said, 'Because I remember your father,' Sabi niya. He always supported Kuwait. HH the Crown Prince always supported us, and we know that you will do the same, so we will resolve this," Marcos said of the meeting.

As part of his trip to Saudi Arabia to attend the 1st ASEAN-GCC Summit, Marcos highlighted the resolution of the country's disagreement with Kuwait.

He expressed optimism that the two nations would be able to resolve the issue.

In May this year, Kuwait suspended the issuance of new work visas to all Filipinos due to the Philippines' supposed non-compliance with the two nations' labor agreement. 

Following the slaying of Jullebee Ranara, whose burnt corpse was found in the desert along Salmi road in February this year, the Philippine government temporarily banned the deployment of first-time household workers to Kuwait.

The estimated number of Filipinos in Kuwait in 2022 is 279,000. The remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Kuwait amounted to US$576,059 in 2021 and US$579,186 last year.

Following Marcos' meeting with HH the Crown Prince, Filipinos in Kuwait welcomed this new development.

“This is really good news for us. We remain hopeful that this will be sorted out soon,” stated Marilen Santos, a sales associate in Kuwait.

There is also optimism that the bilateral labor agreement between Kuwait and the Philippines will be carefully crafted this time around so that it would be mutually beneficial.

“I believe officials of both countries should focus more on the protection and welfare of domestic workers. Rosalie Lina, a household service worker in Kuwait, said, "This is what we need most."

 

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