Sen. Raffy Tulfo. Photo from Voltaire F. Domingo, Senate Social Media Unit/Joseph B. Vidal, OSP

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Raffy Tulfo is pushing for a Senate investigation into the  “unfortunate incidents” involving three overseas Filipino workers in  Kuwait

Filed on Wednesday, Tulfo’s Senate  Resolution No. 1278  directed the committee on migrant workers, which he heads, to conduct the probe on the reported deaths of Dafnie Nacalaban, and Jenny Alvarado.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Integrated Sciences Carlos Primo David during a forum organized by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) said the DENR rolled out a digital application process in three regions of the country.

Philex Mining president and CEO Eulalio Austin Jr. said they have an application to explore a nickel tenement adjacent to the firm’s site in Zambales.

Nacalaban was found dead at the house of a Kuwaiti citizen last December 31 after she went missing for two months  while Alvarado’s death due to coal suffocation was reported last January 2.

READ: Another OFW in Kuwait dead; suspect nabbed

The  third case involved a Filipina  domestic helper who was arrested in Sabah-AI Salem on Dec. 26, 2024 for allegedly causing the death of  her employer’s child in Kuwait.

While recognizing the  “collaborative efforts” of  concerned agencies to provide all the necessary legal and financial assistance to the OFWs involved and their families,  Tulfo still finds them “lacking and failing.”

“The foregoing incidents strongly indicate that the government’s efforts in ensuring protection, safety and constant monitoring of our OFWs, particularly those deployed in the Middle East, where incidents of physical abuse by employers are prevalent, are lacking and failing,”  he said in the resolution.

READ: House probe sought of OFW’s death in Kuwait

“These unfortunate events necessitate an urgent review of existing  policies and agreements in the deployment of overseas Filipino workers in order to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Tulfo added.

The senator expressed hope that the investigation could result in the adoption of monitoring measures and “crafting bilateral agreements that will guarantee the security, safety and the physical as well as mental well-being of Filipino migrant workers.”

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