MIGRANT Workers Secretary Susan Ople said the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is ready to assist 815 overseas workers whose travel to Kuwait has been deferred due to the suspension of visa issuances for newly hired Filipino workers.
“We have agreed on a financial package and job-matching efforts for those whose dreams of working in Kuwait have been put on hold, temporarily, as both countries find the best way forward in addressing current concerns,” Ople said.
The DMW created a dedicated e-mail to respond to queries and concerns related to job opportunities in Kuwait and the assistance being offered to affected workers. “If you have concerns related to employment in Kuwait, please write to ofwkuwait@dmw.gov.ph,” Ople said.
At least 515 of the 815 directly affected OFWs belong to the domestic workers’ category while the rest are mostly in the service sector, to be employed as waiters and waitresses, mall vendors, sales associates with a few to be working in Kuwait as nurses.
“The DMW met with private recruitment agencies with job orders for Kuwait and elsewhere to discuss joint efforts to help their workers look for either foreign or local employment so that they can continue to earn for their families,” Ople said.
The secretary also said that the DMW is preparing a financial aid package of P30,000 per OEC-holder who had already spent money in applying for Kuwait and has fulfilled all the requirements as an overseas Filipino worker. OEC stands for Overseas Employment Certificate, a document issued by the DMW as proof that a worker went through the legal process in applying for a job overseas.
Data from the DMW shows that there are around 270,000 OFWs in Kuwait. Out of that number, 196,000 continue to work in various households as domestic workers. The visa suspension order of the Kuwait government involves new entrants to the Kuwait job market.
“We are optimistic that all these issues raised by both parties in the talks will be resolved in due time. Meanwhile, life continues, and the Department of Migrant Workers is working closely with the private sector to help our workers and their families,” Ople said.
The secretary said the Philippine Embassy and the Migrant Workers Office continue to work with Kuwait authorities on the repatriation of distressed OFWs.
Gov’t interagency task force continuously studying viability of nuclear power
AN interagency task force is continuously reviewing the viability of nuclear power to address the energy requirements of the Philippines, an official of the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Saturday.
Undersecretary Sandy Sales of the DOE’s Energy Resource Development and Oil Management said there is still a lot of work to be done regarding the issue of nuclear power being tapped as an alternative source of energy in the country.
“Meron talagang inter-agency na task force to study this. In fact, nasa DOE nagre-reside ito with all the relevant government agencies,” Sales told a news forum in Quezon City, referring to the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC).
“Of course, mayroong … ginagawa na maraming pag-aaral tungkol dito and with regards sa nuclear… open ang nuclear option para sa atin – meaning to say, there are many kinds of nuclear technologies (available),” the DOE official added.
Sales pointed out the country has yet to formulate a regulatory framework since the Philippines is currently not set up to utilize nuclear energy as an alternative power source.
“We are studying it and hopefully, babalik tayo doon sa situation na charting our course depende sa situation which potentially becomes part of the energy needs of the Philippines in the future. Just saying that nuclear is one of the technologies that can react fast to the variability of renewable energy,” Sales said, stressing that going nuclear entails some risks so it has to be carefully studied.
