MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday lauded the progress in the negotiations for a bilateral labor agreement with Kuwait.

But Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the ban will stay until measures to protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from abuse are in place.

"Our negotiations with Kuwait have so far been going well but we need to put in place more practical measures that would ensure the safety and welfare of our kababayans working there," he said.

Among the measures Cayeteno wants to see in the agreement would be payment of salaries direct to the bank account of Filipino workers whenever feasible.

He also wants a mechanism that would allow OFWs to directly file complaints with Kuwaiti authorities, as some employers preempt cases against them by filing false charges against Pinoys.

"We really must work with Kuwait to make sure we come up with an implementable agreement that would contain guarantees for the protection of our workers," Cayetano stressed.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday that Kuwait has "informally" agreed to the Philippines' demands for the protection of over 250,000 Filipinos in the Gulf country.

The DFA said Kuwait committed to guaranteeing Filipino domestic workers a minimum monthly salary of KD120, and rest hours of at least 8 hours per day.

Kuwait also committed to guaranteeing the OFWs' possession of their passports and mobile phones, and to limit their work to only one household.

President Rodrigo Duterte banned the deployment of new OFWs to the oil-rich country after Filipina maid Joanna Demafelis was found dead in a freezer.