(Eagle News) – The Department of Foreign Affairs will ask the Kuwaiti ambassador to the Philippines to explain why the Kuwaiti government is expelling Philippine ambassador Renato Villa who was declared as “unacceptable” in Kuwait.
The DFA said this action by the State of Kuwait was “deeply disturbing” as it was allegedly “inconsistent with the assurances” given by Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh during his meeting DFA secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in Manila on Tuesday.
“The Department will ask Ambassador Saleh to explain first thing tomorrow why the Kuwaiti Government reneged on the agreement reached with him to work together to move bilateral relations between the Philippines and Kuwait forward,” the DFA statement dated April 25, 2018 said.
It said that “in discussions at every level with Kuwait, the Philippines has always emphasized that the well-being of Filipino nationals wherever they may be will always be of paramount importance.”
The DFA said that the “protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of Filipinos abroad would always be the guiding principle of the Philippines in its relationship with countries around the world, including Kuwait.”
-Kuwait also recalling its ambassador in Manila-
The Kuwaiti government had given Ambassador Villa only one week to leave the country. It is also recalling its own envoy from Manila as tensions rose over the treatment of domestic workers.
An official at Kuwait’s foreign ministry told AFP that the Philippine ambassador had been summoned to be informed of his expulsion.
On April 1, a Kuwaiti court sentenced to death in absentia a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife for the murder of maid Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer in February.
Announcement of the diplomatic expulsion comes despite an apology to Kuwait on Tuesday by Philippine foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, after videos emerged of embassy staff helping Filipinos flee from allegedly abusive employers.
On Tuesday, April 24, even Malacanang confirmed that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s meeting with Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh to resolve issues concerning the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Gulf state ended on a positive note.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr said that both parties underscored that while the Philippines continues to exercise its obligation to protect its nationals abroad, it would do so in a manner that would respect Kuwait’s sovereignty.
“Ang naging resolution po, tanggapin po ng Kuwaiti government na talagang pangangalagaan natin ang ating mga mamamayan sa Kuwait dahil ito’y obligasyon natin bilang isang bansa. At tinatanggap din natin ang soberanya ng Kuwait,” Roque said.
Roque even confirmed then that the two parties are set to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU) providing the terms and conditions for the protection of OFWs working in Kuwait.
“[B]oth states have invested time, resources, effort; and I think both are serious in signing this MOU,” Roque stressed.
Malacanang has not yet issued a statement in reaction to Kuwait’s latest move. (Eagle News Service)