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MANILA - The Philippine and Chinese governments will iron out a bilateral agreement on the deployment of 100,000 Filipino teachers when President Rodrigo Duterte attends a forum of world leaders in Beijing next week, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said Sunday.

Bello had said China needs 100,000 English teachers, who could earn as much as $1,500 (P78,000) per month.

"One of the contentious issue[s] there is the requirement by the Chinese government that they will accredit the schools that will issue the certification to our English teachers," he told ANC.

"We maintain the position that it should be the Philippines that will choose these schools or the colleges that will issue the certification," he added.

Bello said he hoped to meet his Chinese counterpart at the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia to thresh out this issue.

Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to hold a bilateral meeting at the event, which is Asia's answer to the annual World Economic Forum hosted in Switzerland.

KUWAIT DEPLOYMENT BAN

The Philippines has eyed China as an alternative market for migrant workers after Duterte in February banned the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait, following the recent deaths of 7 Filipinos in the oil-rich nation.

Manila may partially lift the deployment ban after it signs with Kuwait a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the protection of migrant workers.

"We've already come up with a finalized draft of the MOU. It is now ready for signature. But we have to wait for the President's approval," Bello said.

Duterte had hit out at Kuwait after the body of Joanna Demafelis, a Filipina maid, was found in a freezer.

The President alleged Arab employers routinely raped their Filipina workers, forced them to work 21 hours each day and fed them scraps.

Authorities say 252,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, many as maids. They are among over 2 million employed in the region, whose remittances are a lifeline to the Philippine economy.