President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the lifting of the deployment ban on Filipino workers to Kuwait following a meeting with Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The discussions took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia.
The deployment ban came into effect earlier this year after the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) stopped processing contracts for first-time household workers headed to Kuwait. This decision was in response to the tragic murder of Jullebee Ranara, an overseas Filipino worker, by the son of her Kuwaiti employers. However, President Marcos opted against implementing a total deployment ban.
A few months later, in a subsequent move, Kuwait suspended the issuance of entry and work visas to Filipinos.
Speaking about his meeting with the Kuwaiti leader, President Marcos mentioned, “He was very effusive, suggesting that we should remove all bans and return to our prior arrangements.” Marcos described their talks as a significant breakthrough. He stated, “For the past few months, we’ve had to halt the deployment of our workers to Kuwait. That’s about to change, and we’ll return to our usual relations with the Kuwaiti government.”
Although President Marcos didn’t provide an exact date for the ban’s lifting, he emphasized that the Kuwaiti authorities have already started discussions to resolve the underlying issues swiftly.