Lawmaker wants Kuwaiti vlogger declared ‘persona non grata’
A LAWMAKER at the House of Representatives wants a Kuwaiti social media influencer to be declared “persona non grata” in the Philippines after she posted a video recently criticizing Filipino workers in the Gulf State.
ACTS-OFW Rep. Aniceto Bertiz 3rd said in a statement on Friday that the House resolution against Instagram influencer Sondos Al Qattan would be sent to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for enforcement.
Declaring a foreigner “persona non grata” by the government will prohibit him or her from entering the country.
“No one has the right to treat our kababayans (countrymen) as slaves because they go to [a]foreign country to find a decent living for the sake of their families,” said Bertiz.
“Ms. Al Qattan should realize the contribution of our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in various countries in the world, not just in Kuwait,” he said.
Philippines and Kuwait signed a memorandum of agreement on May 11 protecting the rights of Filipino domestic workers sent to Kuwait.
The MOA stemmed from the recent death of Joanna Demafelis, a Filipino household service worker (HSW) in Kuwait whose body was discovered inside a freezer in February, a year after she was reported missing. Demafelis’ Lebanese employer, Nader Essam Assaf, has been arrested while her local recruiter has been placed under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The video of Al Qattan went viral although it received a lot of backlash even from some Kuwaitis because of her opposition to the provisions, which included allowing the Filipino domestics to take the day off and keep their passports.
Emirati influencer Khalid Al Ameri posted a vlog on Facebook expressing his disappointment on the views of Al Qattan.
“If I’m not mistaken, almost every job in the world, barring a few security jobs and military jobs, have a day off. A day of rest, a day to go out, a day to enjoy life,” said by Al Ameri in his video with almost 1.3 million views.
“If I worked for you, I would run so far away, the CIA wouldn’t be able to find me, I would dig a hole so deep, you wouldn’t be able to smell my scent,” he said.
Al Qattan posted an official statement on her Instagram account defending her criticism of domestic helpers and has not issued a public apology. JEAN NICOLE R. STA. CLARA, TMTC INTERN
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