Bello set to announce total deployment ban of OFWs in Kuwait

According to the report of GMA News Online, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said he will issue a new order on Monday imposing a total deployment ban of Filipino workers to Kuwait.

Bellos said he was instructed by President Rodrigo Duterte to issue the  order on the total deployment ban, separate from a previous order suspending the processing of new employment certificates.

“This time, what the president wanted is a total deployment ban,” Bello said.

Vacationing Filipino workers, aside from the new hires, will no longer be allowed to return to Kuwait.

It was not clear yet if Filipinos currently working in Kuwait will be covered by the ban.

Bello said other details of the deployment ban will be contained in the order the the Department of Labor and Employment will release on Monday.

Duterte on Friday night asked Filipinos in Kuwait to return home in 72 hours. He said he will ask airlines to provide free flights back home for those who want to be repatriated.

Bello, meanwhile, clarified that the 72-hour offer given by Duterte are for Filipino workers who are distressed, given amnesty and others who simply want to return to the Philippines.

It was not yet clear when the 72 hours will start or if it will take effect simultaneous with the DOLE’s release of the deployment ban on Monday.