FILIPINOS from Kuwait are not being forced to go back to the Philippines, Malacañang clarified on Monday, April 30, or two days after President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his intent to pull everyone out of the Arab country.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte's plea for Filipinos residing and working in Kuwait to return home is "voluntary."
"This is voluntary. He is not compelling anyone to come home," Roque said in a press conference.
He also assured that Filipino workers in Kuwait remain safe while diplomatic talks between the Philippines and Kuwait are being held because the Arab nation is "duty-bound" to comply with international law safeguarding foreign nationals' security from a host country.
"We don't have an ambassador but there is a Charge d'Affaires, there is a diplomatic mission. Diplomatic ties remain, which means that we have a mission there to protect our nationals," Roque said.
"And Kuwait also is duty-bound to protect aliens under the standards dictated by international law, under terms and conditions which are not inferior to the way that they treat their own nationals," he added.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and other Cabinet officials are set to fly to Kuwait on May 7 to proceed with the "process of diplomatic negotiations."
Amid the diplomatic row between the Philippines and Kuwait, Duterte on Saturday, April 28, appealed for Filipinos' "sense of patriotism" and come home.
The President made the call in light of the Kuwaiti government's recent actions, such as the expulsion of Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa from Kuwait over the rescue mission of distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that was supposedly in violation of the Gulf nation's sovereignty and laws.
Duterte, who made it clear that he does not hold a grudge against Kuwait, told around 260,000 Filipinos currently in the Arab country: "To all those who are in Kuwait, for those who are not really household helpers, I now appeal to your sense of patriotism, come home. Anyway, there are already many job opportunities in the Philippines."
The President's dramatic announcement came amid the Philippines' escalating crisis with Kuwait over the conditions of Filipino migrant workers in the oil-rich kingdom.
In February, Duterte imposed a temporary ban on the deployment of Filipino workers, as he demanded a fair and humane treatment of OFWs by their Kuwaiti employers.
Duterte's deployment ban had prompted the Philippines and Kuwait to hold talks and seek a deal that will protect Filipino workers' labor rights from the Gulf nation.
The two countries, however, have yet to sign the agreement.
Despite the latest developments, Roque said the Philippine government was "trying to normalize -- as much as (it) could -- ties with Kuwait."
He also clarified that Duterte's deployment ban was "not permanent," as its fate rests on the signing of the document protecting the OFWs. (VoxPop Philippines)
