The temporary ban on the deployment of Filipinos in Kuwait is now permanent

Dubai: The temporary ban on the deployment of Filipinos in Kuwait is now permanent, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday, further worsening the dispute over domestic workers.

“The ban stays permanently. There will be no more recruitment (of OFWs for Kuwait),” Duterte told reporters at the international airport in Davao, shortly after his arrival from his trip in Singapore.

The president issued the statement just days after the country's envoy to the Gulf state was asked to leave. Duterte said he will instead ask other countries, including China, to consider recruiting more Filipinos, in order to accommodate those who are looking to work overseas.

Last February, the Philippines' Department of Labour



and Employment (Dole) issued an order to enforce a ban on Filipinos heading to Kuwait for work, following a directive from Duterte.

The move was in response to a series of incidents that led to the deaths and injuries of a number of OFWs in the Gulf state. A body of a domestic worker from the Philippines was earlier found stuffed inside a freezer in an abandoned villa 

Tensions between the two countries had inflamed recently following the circulation of videos of Philippine Embassy staff members attempting to help Filipino household workers flee from their employers’ homes.

The government of Kuwait deemed the rescue attempts as a "violation of its laws" and later asked Ambassador Renato Villa to leave the country.