Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa speaks at a press conference on April 21 (Source: AFP) Hanoi (VNA) – Diplomatic tensions related to worker abuses betweenthe Philippines and Kuwait continue escalating with the Southeast Asian nationshowing its dissatisfaction with Kuwait’s expulsion of the Filipino Ambassador onApril 25.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on April26 sent a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Kuwait conveying its strongsurprise and great displeasures over the declaration of Ambassador Renato PedroVilla as persona non grata, the continued detention of four Filipinos hired bythe Philippine Embassy, and the issuance of arrest warrants against threediplomatic personnel.
These acts are inconsistent with the assurances andrepresentations made by the Kuwaiti Ambassador on the various concerns thatwere brought to his attention by Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs AlanPeter S. Cayetano during their meeting in Manila on April 24, said the DFA.
Tensions between the two countries have lasted for threemonths, starting from information that several Philippine workers had beenabused to death by Kuwaiti employers.
The two countries then coordinated to make an agreement toprotect labourers working abroad after the Philippines banned their labourers fromgoing to Kuwait for work.
However, on April 25, Kuwait requested the PhilippineAmbassador to leave the country for a week, and recalled its Ambassador forconsultations after the Philippine Embassy conducted rescue operation of mostlydistraught Philippine maids who allegedly experienced cruelty in the hands oftheir Kuwaiti employers.
According to the DFA, domestic maids account for over 65percent out of the 260,000 Philippine workers in Kuwait.
In February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered aban on the sending of new workers to Kuwait in the wake of numerous complaintsthat Philippine workers there are severely abused and maltreated.-VNA
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