Duterte orders lifting of ban on Filipinos working in Kuwait

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered on Wednesday the “total” lifting of a ban on Filipinos working in Kuwait. The two countries agreed earlier on measures to regulate employment following a diplomatic row over alleged abuse of workers. The Philippines suspended the deployment of workers to the Gulf state in January after Duterte said the abuse of Filipino domestic helpers by Kuwaiti employers was continuing unchecked and had driven several to suicide. Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque said the president would give the instruction to the Labor Secretary after discussions with his special envoy to Kuwait, Abdullah Mama-o, who recommended the action to normalize the situation, Reuters reports.