Philippines to set conditions on recruitment agencies in Kuwait after murder

The Philippines says it will take steps to assess and prevent abuses of Filipino workers in Kuwait

Condolence wreaths placed outside the residence of Jullebee Ranara, a domestic helper who was killed in Kuwait last week, in Las Pinas City, suburban Manila. AFP

The Philippines has temporarily suspended the accreditation of foreign recruitment agencies operating in Kuwait after the murder of Filipina domestic worker Jullebee Ranara.

A representative of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Toby Nebrida, told The Philippine Star that new rules were being implemented on those recruiting domestic workers from the country.

The Philippines said it would only work with foreign recruitment agencies in Kuwait with a clean record and those without any domestic workers assigned to the company currently seeking refuge at the Filipino embassy's welfare home, according to Catherine Duladul, the officer-in-charge at the Migrant Workers Office in Kuwait.

“Application for accreditation of new, dual and replacement is suspended pending a review of existing accredited foreign recruitment agencies,” Ms Duladul told The Philippine Star.

Ranara's body was flown home last week from Kuwait, where the 35-year-old was reportedly killed by her employer’s son and then dumped, DMW secretary Susan Ople said.

Mother of Filipina worker Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found inside a freezer in Kuwait, cries in front of the wooden casket containing her daughter's body in Philippines, on February 17, 2018. AFP

“It’s a very gruesome, senseless crime and so the perpetrator must be punished,” Ople said in an online news conference.

Kuwaiti security forces made an arrest last Sunday, less than 24 hours after Ranara’s body was found on Al Salmi road. An autopsy showed the woman was pregnant at the time of her death, according to Al Rai newspaper.

Filipino officials said they were attempting to confirm whether Ranara was raped and was pregnant when she was killed by the 17-year-old suspect.

Kuwait and the Philippines signed an agreement regulating conditions for domestic workers in the Gulf state in March 2018. It ended a two-month diplomatic crisis sparked by reports that abuse by employers in Kuwait had driven several Filipinos to suicide.

The latest crime comes about five years after the murder of Joanna Daniela Demafelis, a Filipina domestic worker whose body was found in a freezer after she was killed by her employers.

It sparked a diplomatic rift and saw former president Rodrigo Duterte impose a temporary ban on workers from the Philippines moving to the Gulf country.

The DMW said it was going to send a delegation to review the agreement this week.

Updated: February 02, 2023, 9:45 AM