—Alex Kingston
By Alex P. Vidal
WE’VE been dumped and that’s the awful truth and reality we must accept however painful and mortifying.
And if they still have a little shame left, negotiators from the Philippine Government should stop flying back to Kuwait now a tosa prisa or lo antes posible (as soon as possible).
They should cancel the next trip—if they still haven’t shelved their plans to return in the Middle Eastern country after being rebuffed during their first trip three weeks ago.
Like jilted suitors, Filipino foreign affairs and migrant workers officials continued to insist they could convince the Kuwait Government to reconsider the decision to withhold the issuance of any type of visa for Philippine nationals after Manila supposedly rejected the conditions set during a recent bilateral meeting.
Even President Bongbong Marcos Jr. was embarrassed to admit he wasn’t in favor of the Philippine Government’s decision to ban the sending of workers to Kuwait, a decision earlier that led to Kuwait’s intransigence.
“Sometimes that is an overreaction that we just impose bans and that is not right," President Marcos Jr. was reported as saying on May 26 said adding he didn’t not want to "burn bridges" since the situation could still change and Filipinos might be allowed back.
The truth is the Kuwait Ministry of Interior has already shut the door on our OFWs.
-o0o-
Kuwait has stood firm on its decision and is now “working to outsource the skills and expertise needed for its labor market through contracts with other countries” as reported by the state-owed Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
It added: “The sovereignty of Kuwait and the dignity of its people are a red line.”
Loud and clear. They don’t want us anymore.
A letter from Kuwait’s Public Authority of Manpower has outlined the supposed violations that led to the ban, according to the KUNA report.
These violations reportedly include forcing employment offices in Kuwait to recall Filipino housemaids and workers from the houses of Kuwaiti citizens and lodge them at a private residence of the offices, forcing employment offices to locate the escapees from Kuwaiti employers, and dealing inappropriately with Kuwaiti citizens by applying pressure on employers and offices while renewing work contracts.
It also alleged that the Philippine embassy failed to authenticate work contracts without legal justification and lodged supposed Filipino violators of residence laws in private shelters and camps belonging to the embassy.
-o0o-
AS a member of the world boxing community, I support the announcement made by World Boxing Council (WBC) president Mauricio Sulaiman that the organization was planning to introduce a new transgender category and would put out a call for interested athletes to come forward this year.
The prospective category would rpeortedly adopt the "at birth" rule, meaning that a trans fighter assigned as a male at birth would only be able to compete against a fellow trans fighter assigned as a male at birth.
"We are going to put out a global call for those who are interested in 2023 and we will set up the protocols, start consultation and most likely create a league and a tournament," Sulaiman told The Telegraph.
"It is the time to do this, and we are doing this because of safety and inclusion. We have been the leaders in rules for women's boxing - so the dangers of a man fighting a woman will never happen because of what we are going to put in place.
"In boxing, a man fighting a woman must never be accepted regardless of gender change. There should be no grey area around this, and we want to go into it with transparency and the correct decisions. Woman to man or man to woman transgender change will never be allowed to fight a different gender by birth."
Transgender rights have become a major talking point as sports seek to balance inclusivity while ensuring there is no unfair advantage.
In June 2022, swimming's world governing body FINA voted to restrict the participation of transgender athletes in elite women's competitions and created a working group to establish an "open" category.
FINA's policy requires transgender competitors to have completed their transition by the age of 12 in order to be able to compete in women's competitions.
However, with the stakes even higher in combat sports given the potential physical danger for athletes, Sulaiman insists his proposed structure is the correct way to make the sport more inclusive.
Sulaiman added: "We are creating a set of rules and structures so that transgender boxing can take place, as they fully deserve to if they want to box.
"We do not yet know the numbers that there are out there, but we're opening a universal registration in 2023, so that we can understand the boxers that are out there - and we'll start from there."
The British Boxing Board of Control responded by saying discussions over a transgender category are only "hypothetical", but that discussions have begun over their policy.
"At the moment this is hypothetical but we can see it coming and we are looking at our transgender policy," BBBofC general secretary Robert Smith told The Telegraph.
"It is what you are born as, as rugby union does. When it does (happen) we intend to be fully prepared. Medical and, perhaps more importantly, legal considerations will have to be taken into account."
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)
