Malacanang said on Thursday the total deployment ban of Filipino workers in Kuwait will remain until it has fully implemented the agreement for their full protection.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the total deployment ban was again imposed due to the failure of the Kuwaiti government to enforce the deal, which was signed in 2018 following the gruesome killing of Filipina household worker Joanna Demafelis.

"That is precisely why there is a total deployment ban. Until such time as the terms of the MOA (memorandum of agreement) are incorporated in each labor contract between the employer and the employee, the ban remains," he said.

The Duterte administration has decided to ban once more the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait following the recent murder of another household worker, Jeanelyn Villavende.

The overseas Filipino worker from South Cotabato was reportedly tortured and sexually abused by her employer before she was slain in the Gulf state last December.

In 2018, Demafelis' remains were found inside a freezer at an abandoned apartment in Kuwait. Celerina Monte/DMS