Manila 'Displeased' about Kuwait’s Expulsion of its Ambassador, Requests Explanation

Filipino workers who were repatriated from Kuwait take part in a dialogue with a Department of Labour official at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
Filipino workers who were repatriated from Kuwait take part in a dialogue with a Department of Labour official at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
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Manila 'Displeased' about Kuwait’s Expulsion of its Ambassador, Requests Explanation

Filipino workers who were repatriated from Kuwait take part in a dialogue with a Department of Labour official at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
Filipino workers who were repatriated from Kuwait take part in a dialogue with a Department of Labour official at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

The Philippine Government asked Kuwait on Thursday for clarification on the expulsion of its ambassador, expressing “annoyance” and “displeasure” with the Kuwaiti move.

While Harry Roque, official spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, expressed the hope that this development “will not lead to further deterioration in the bilateral relations between the two countries,” the Philippine foreign ministry said on Thursday it has sent an official letter to the embassy of Kuwait, expressing its surprise and displeasure over the expulsion of its ambassador.

“The department [foreign ministry] served a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Kuwait conveying its strong surprise and great displeasure over the declaration of Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa as persona non grata,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Philippine foreign minister demanded in the diplomatic note, the Kuwaiti government to explain “the continued detention of four Filipinos hired by the Philippine embassy and the issuance of arrest warrants against three diplomatic personnel.”

Manila said its embassy had hired three of the detained Filipino nationals for rescue operations that have angered Kuwait and have been seen as a “violation to Kuwait’s sovereignty and laws.”

The Philippine ambassador to Kuwait, Renato Pedro Villa, admitted during a press statement the presence of a Filipino team that has been conducting “rescue” operations of Filipino maids in Kuwait for more than a month.

However, Philippine officials confirmed that their Foreign Ministry was sending reinforcements to its embassy in Kuwait, consisting of seven teams to rescue domestic workers in Kuwait.

The Kuwaiti authorities detained three drivers, who drove the embassy cars in the so-called rescue operations. Kuwait regarded such behavior by the embassy as a violation to its sovereignty.

Tensions rose earlier this year following the murder of maid Joanna Demafelis, prompting Duterte to ban Filipina workers from deploying to Kuwait for work. A Lebanese man and his Syrian wife were found guilty in the murder.

A widely circulated video on social media, published by the Philippine Foreign Ministry last week, showed a woman fleeing a house before taking a car waiting for her. Another clip showed someone running from a place that looked like a construction site before jumping into a black car.

The Kuwaiti government asked the Philippine ambassador on Wednesday to leave the country within a week and summoned its ambassador from Manila for consultations.

The Philippine foreign minister issued an official apology to Kuwait for the harm caused by the revealing of an emergency team that belongs to the embassy, which was smuggling Filipino workers from the homes of their Kuwaiti employers on suspicion of violating their rights.



Trump Says May Visit Saudi Arabia Next Month

US President Donald Trump takes part in a signing of an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump takes part in a signing of an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Says May Visit Saudi Arabia Next Month

US President Donald Trump takes part in a signing of an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump takes part in a signing of an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2025. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to visit Saudi Arabia as early as May in what will be the first foreign trip of his second term, with stops also planned in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

"It could be next month, maybe a little later," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Four sources briefed on the matter said mid-May was being looked at as the timing for the trip. Trump made Saudi Arabia and Israel the initial stops on his inaugural foreign trip during his first term in 2017.

Topics likely to be discussed include Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza, one source said.

Saudi Arabia has played a prominent role in US foreign policy, including hosting US ceasefire talks with Russia and Ukraine.

"An opportunity for international travel for the president is something that is being looked at. We don’t yet have a specific plan, and we will provide that information when it is official," a White House official said ahead of Trump's remarks.