President Rodrigo Duterte has banned Philippine citizens from travelling to Kuwait to work following reports of widespread abuse and exploitation, his spokesman said Saturday. Duterte ordered the ban after reports emerged about the deaths of several Filipina women in the Gulf state, his spokesman Harry Roque said. “In line with his presidential pronouncement, Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello has ordered the suspension of the deployment of workers to Kuwait,” Roque told reporters. It was not immediately clear how long the ban, which does not affect workers already in Kuwait, would last. In his speech before overseas workers on Thursday, Duterte said he would urge the Kuwaiti government to act against the abuses.

Source: The Guardian January 20, 2018 11:48 UTC