Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III on 1 February 2020 kicked off his three-day visit to Kuwait at the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (MWOFRC) Shelter, where he listened to the concerns of hundreds of distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who sought shelter with the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait.

During the visit, Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. and Consul General Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot, Labor Attaché Nasser S. Mustafa, and other officials explained to Secretary Bello and to the MWOFRC wards how the Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) are addressing the issues that distressed OFWs in Kuwait are facing—including the resolution of their ongoing court cases and immigration issues, and the facilitation of their immediate repatriation to the Philippines.

In response, Secretary Bello reiterated the commitment of the Duterte administration to ensure the welfare and well-being of all OFWs in Kuwait, especially domestic workers. More than 60 percent of the 230,000 Filipinos in Kuwait work in the domestic labor sector.

Secretary Bello's delegation who visited the MWOFRC Shelter included Undersecretary Claro A. Arellano of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard P. Olalia, and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac. The three DOLE officials are part of the country's delegation to the Joint Committee Meeting on the 2018 Philippines-Kuwait Agreement on the Deployment of Domestic Workers. (Kuwait PE photos)