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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos accepts Kuwaiti crown prince's apology on Pinoy workers' treatment

Marcos accepts Kuwaiti crown prince's apology on Pinoy workers' treatment

Published Oct 21, 2023 07:50 am

At A Glance

  • According to Marcos, Mishal apologized and disagreed with what his people were doing.
  • Kuwait had suspended the issuance of entry and work visas to Filipinos due to the Philippines' supposed non-compliance with the labor agreement between the two countries.
  • The Philippine government temporarily banned the deployment of first-time household service workers to Kuwait following the slaying of Jullebee Ranara, whose burnt corpse was found in the desert.
  • In 2018, the previous administration imposed a temporary deployment ban after the murder of household worker Joan Demafelis.

Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has apologized for his country's treatment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), President Marcos said.

Kuwait.jpg
RENEWED TIES — President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. meets Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the sidelines of the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 20, 2023. (Malacañang photos)

Marcos said this following his pull-aside meeting with the Kuwaiti monarch at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit-Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) Summit in Riyadh on Oct. 20.

In a media interview, the President said Mishal was displeased with the present relationship between the two countries and that the Philippines need not apologize.

According to Marcos, Mishal apologized and disagreed with what his people were doing.

"The words that he used, 'Do not listen to them. I do not agree with what they have been doing.' And, in fact, he said, 'I do not want…There is no reason for you to apologize to us,'" the President said.

"'We will fix it, and we will make it because we love the Philippines,'" he continued.

Marcos said Mishal was keen on fixing the relationship between the two countries since the former's father has always supported Kuwait.

According to the President, resolving the country's disagreement with Kuwait was one of the successes of his trip to Saudi Arabia.

"Just for that, worth it na itong byahe natin dahil naayos natin yung problema sa Kuwait (this trip is already worth it since we fixed the problem with Kuwait)," he said.

"Talagang sumasakit ang ulo namin kung papaano namin gagawin (Thinking of how to fix this gave us a headache). But that is one of the, shall we say, successes that we can record from this trip," he added.

Kuwait had suspended the issuance of entry and work visas to Filipinos due to the Philippines' supposed non-compliance with the labor agreement between the two countries.

The Philippine government temporarily banned the deployment of first-time household service workers to Kuwait following the slaying of Jullebee Ranara, whose burnt corpse was found in the desert.

In 2018, the previous administration imposed a temporary deployment ban after the murder of household worker Joan Demafelis.

As of 2022, the estimated number of Filipinos in Kuwait is 279,000. OFWs remittances from Kuwait amounted to $576,059 in 2021 and $579,186 last year.

Related Tags

Bongbong Marcos KUWAIT Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah PH-Kuwait President Marcos
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