PH demands justice for slain Filipina in Kuwait

MANILA — The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), on New Year’s Eve demanded justice for the slain Filipino household worker in Kuwait.

During a meeting with Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Salem Ahmad Al Thuwaikh on Tuesday afternoon, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. conveyed the country’s outrage over the Filipina’s death in the hands of her employer’s wife.

“I beg you, give her justice. We will go after the Filipino recruiters and government officials who put her in harm’s way,“ Locsin told the Kuwaiti envoy.

“The friendship between your country which gives our people the jobs they cannot find at home and our people whose faithful service makes the life of your people easier depends on justice being done the murdered maid. An eye for an eye, a life for a life,” he said.

The agency has yet to release official details regarding the Filipina victim but the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait continues to coordinate closely with local authorities to ensure that justice will be served.

Earlier, the Department of Labor and Employment identified the Filipina as Jeanelyn Padernal Villavende.

In a statement on Monday night, the DFA condemned the Filipina’s killing as it cited the May 2018 Philippine-Kuwait agreement that sought to protect the welfare of migrant workers in the Middle East country.

It also pressed the Kuwaiti government for complete transparency in the investigation of the case and to call for the swift prosecution of the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.

“The continuing incidents of violence and abuse of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait violates the spirit of the agreement signed in May 2018 that seeks to promote and protect their welfare,” it said.

The agency expressed “outrage over the seeming lack of protection” of Filipino domestic workers at the hands of their employers.