(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs has already summoned Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh but failed to talk to him as he was already recalled by the Kuwaiti government.
The DFA said that it had served a “diplomatic note” to the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Manila only to learn that Kuwaiti Ambassador had been “recalled to his capital for consultations.”
In a statement, the DFA said it conveyed through the diplomatic note its “strong surprise and great displeasure” over Kuwait’s declaration of Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa as persona non grata.
It also complained of the “continued detention of four Filipinos” who had been hired by the Philippine embassy, as well as the “issuance of arrest warrants against three diplomatic personnel.”
The Department said it believed these acts were “inconsistent with the assurances and representations” made by the Kuwaiti Ambassador on the various concerns that were brought to his attention by DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano during their meeting in Manila on 24 April 2018.
The DFA’s diplomatic note was sent after the Kuwaiti government had given Philippine Ambassador Villa only one week to leave the country, and amid reports that said Kuwait was also recalling its own envoy from Manila as tensions rose over the treatment of domestic workers.
-DFA cites commitments made by Kuwaiti ambassador-
In the April 24 meeting between Cayetano and the Kuwaiti ambassador, the DFA said that Ambassador Althwaikh had stated then that Philippine Ambassador Villa was still welcome to stay in Kuwait until the end of his tour of duty, and that the Kuwaiti government “likes” him.
The DFA statement also noted that the Kuwaiti ambassador committed to the following “measures that will immediately respond to the urgent requests by Filipino nationals”:
1. To strengthen the Kuwaiti Government’s 24/7 Hotline to immediately respond to urgent requests for assistance by Filipino nationals in coordination with the Philippine Embassy;
2. To jointly establish additional centers or shelters, if needed, for distressed Filipino workers;
3. To jointly formulate mechanisms to ensure better and efficient coordination between the Philippine Embassy and Kuwaiti authorities in responding to any emergency case involving Filipino nationals;
4. To ensure immediate action by Kuwaiti authorities on pending requests for assistance from distressed Filipino workers;
5. To facilitate repatriation of the more than 800 Filipinos currently staying in shelters of the Philippine Embassy;
6. To assure justice for pending and future cases filed by Filipinos who are victims of serious abuse and other offenses;
7. To assure proper and humane treatment of Filipinos who may be taken into custody after the April 22 amnesty deadline and to repatriate them immediately with the assistance of the Philippine Embassy.
8. To release Filipino nationals hired by the Philippine Embassy who were taken into custody in recent days for their involvement in the actions taken by the Embassy in responding to the calls for assistance by Filipino nationals in distress; and
9. To ensure that diplomatic personnel of the Department of Foreign Affairs who are still in Kuwait are allowed to return to Manila without incident at the soonest possible time.
“Given the current circumstances, the Department conveyed its wish to be clarified on the actions to be taken by the Government of Kuwait on the assurances given by the Ambassador to the Secretary,” the DFA statement said. (Eagle News Service)