KUWAIT alleged that officials and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait have committed violations to diplomatic practices, and demanded that the Philippine government publicly admit these infractions as precondition to lifting the ban on visas to all Filipinos.
However, the Department of Foreign Affairs said they will not bend to those demands.
“We will not apologize or formally admit to infractions,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said.
Alleged “violations” by the Philippines
In a statement posted on Twitter, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah said Kuwait’s “sovereignty and dignity of its people are on a red line.”
Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower, which oversees the recruitment of expatriates, accused the Philippine Embassy of violating Kuwaiti laws related to Filipino domestic workers who are escaping from their employers. The specific “major violations” were:
- “Instructing” Kuwaiti recruiters to “intervene” using a “pretext” that absconding Filipino maids have completed their contracts.
- “Pressuring” Kuwaiti recruiters to accommodate workers in the offices’ private accommodations. Under Kuwaiti laws, absconding employees should proceed at the shelter provided for by the PAM.
- “Compelling” Kuwaiti recruiters to search for domestic workers who have escaped from their employers’ homes. This is the “role” of Kuwaiti authorities, not the recruiters, it said.
- “Pressuring” employers to add clauses in the work contract “that are not desired by the employer or the worker.”
- “Directly contacting” Kuwaiti employers and recruiters “without consulting the relevant authorities in Kuwait.”
- “Treating Citizens in an undignified manner” when they visit the embassy, upon the embassy’s request.
- Failure of labor recruitment offices to authenticate contracts with the embassy without legal justification.
- Imposing a ban on employers “despite the embassy being aware that complaints have been filed with relevant government agencies, which is a clear violation and blatant disregard for the laws of Kuwait.”
- Providing accommodation for workers in special housing or shelters affiliated with the embassy, “even though some of these workers are in violation of the residence law or have absconding cases issued against them.“
These complaints were relayed during the talks held between Philippine and Kuwaiti officials in Kuwait last week.
During the talks, the Kuwaitis have set conditions for the Philippine government to do before they would lift the suspension of visa issuance to Filipinos. These are:
- Recognize and acknowledge that the Philippine Embassy has “committed violations and infringements on the laws, resolutions, and regulations applicable within Kuwait, thereby violating diplomatic norms accepted between countries.”
- Commitment from the Philippine Embassy “not to repeat or engage” in similar actions in the future
- The Philippine Embassy must notify the DFA of this commitment and “should be published in official media outlets.”
“If these conditions are accepted by the Filipino side, the Ministry of Interior will assess the situation and monitor the embassy’s compliance with the security measures and conditions set by the ministry for a period of not less than three months, after which appropriate measures will be decided,” it said.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior had given the Philippine negotiators 72 hours to relay the demands to the Philippine government. But the Philippine panel “refused to commit to the conditions”
We are protecting our nationals – PHL
De Vega told Business Mirror that the Philippine government is willing to “work with” the Kuwaiti government “so that our Embassy can avoid any violations of Kuwaiti law and regulations.”
“But we cannot actually hold accountable our Embassy people (including labor and welfare people) for working to protect our nationals,” he added.
As talks ended in a stalemate, Kuwait stayed the ban on issuance of all kinds of visas to Filipino passport holders. The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers also maintained the ban on deployment of first-time Filipino domestic workers to Kuwait.
“We hope that we could in time resume talks with the Kuwaits to resolve these differences like friends and partners,” De Vega said.
He said the Philippine government “acknowledges and appreciates” the assistance of the Kuwaiti Government in the efforts being taken to decongest the shelter and allow hundreds of Filipino runaways to return home at the soonest possible time.
He confirmed reports of Kuwaiti newspaper, Times of Kuwait, that 415 OFWs from the Embassy shelter were recently moved to the PAM center for deportation proceedings.
“We also appreciate the steps being taken by the Kuwaiti authorities in the case of slain OFW Jullebee Ranara and in the investigation of the incident involving Filipino cyclists who were run over by a van,” he added.
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