Palace hopes Kuwait won’t turn back on OFW protection deal

MANILA - Malacañang on Thursday said it hopes Kuwait would not turn its back on a deal to give greater protection to Filipino workers in the Gulf state amid the diplomatic row between the two countries.

The Philippines and Kuwait figured in a spat after a video showing the rescue of Filipino domestic workers from their employers' homes in the Gulf state surfaced and went viral online.

On Wednesday, Kuwait said it was expelling the Philippine envoy based there.

The incident happened just as the two sides were finalizing a deal seen to provide better security for Filipino workers in Kuwait

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that even as tensions between the two countries simmered, Kuwait has not signified any intent to turn down the deal, which the Philippine government hopes to sign before the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in May.

“There’s no indication it will not be signed. All our demands are there,” Roque said in a Palace press briefing.

The Kuwaiti government viewed the rescue as a violation of its sovereignty. Video of the incident showed Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa, who was reportedly heard as saying that the embassy did not need the aid of Kuwaiti authorities in helping distressed Filipino workers.

Angered by the video, Kuwait expelled the Filipino envoy. The move surprised Manila as this happened even after the meeting between Duterte and Kuwaiti ambassador to the Philippines Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh, and the Philippines’ apology.

Roque, nonetheless, said Kuwait’s move was understandable as this was a “grave expression of displeasure.”

“We believe and hope the passage of time will heal all wounds and will lead to normalized ties,” he added.

Talks between the Philippines and Kuwait for a deal on the protection of Filipino migrant workers began following a string of reported abuses and deaths of Philippine workers in the Gulf state, including Joanna Demafelis.

The domestic worker's body was found in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait in February, over a year after she was reported missing. Her employers, a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife, were sentenced to death for her slay.

Reported abuses against Filipinos in the Gulf state had prompted the Philippine government to ban further deployment and to initiate a repatriation program for those who would like to come home.