Negotiations for Kuwait to lift the suspension on issuing new visas for Filipinos will continue as Manila refused to yield to the latter's demands that would violate the Philippine laws.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement on Thursday, May 18, that the Philippine and Kuwait governments sat down on May 16 and 17 to discuss bilateral relations, but it did not disclose specific details about the meeting.
In a text message to reporters, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said that Kuwait during the meeting "insist[s] we are violating their law," although he stopped short of citing the Kuwaiti law which the Philippines violated.
De Vega earlier told the media that Kuwait "had some issues" with the Philippines as it used to provide shelter to Filipinos seeking protection.
"Sabi nila under Kuwaiti law, dapat walang (They say, under Kuwaiti law, there should not be a) shelter for runaway workers but then again under Philippine law, we have to have those shelters and of course it is the obligation of the Philippine government to protect them," he said.
What the DFA only had to say was: "on issues related to services being rendered to our migrant workers, the delegation explained that all actions taken by the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine government are solely to ensure the safety and welfare of our own nationals."
It would also be "dishonorable" for the Philippines to violate its own laws mandating Philippine embassies to put up a center for Filipinos "just so that we could convince any foreign country to resume hiring our workers," according to De Vega.
"The Filipino people have more dignity than that," he added.
The DFA maintained that the protection of the Filipino people abroad "is a well-established duty of consular offices under international law and conventions."
So, the Philippine government would be exploring solutions that are "long term," and not just being a "yo-yo" in terms of keeping on suspending and then lifting it again.
"This kind of long term solution will not be achieved in one round of discussions. The alternative would be for us to immediately agree to everything they insist on, or for them to agree to everything we insist on," De Vega said.
"That is not realistic in diplomatic negotiations even with a friend and partner like Kuwait," he added.
On May 10, Kuwaiti media reported that Kuwaiti government suspended issuing new visas for Filipinos effective immediately.
In February, the Philippines implemented a deployment ban on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for Kuwaiti following the tragic death of Julleebee Ranara, who was killed and burned allegedly by her employer's son.
According to Migrante International, a coalition of OFWs, "many have been offloaded from their flights, many have been repatriated after transit, 78 OFWs were repatriated on May 12, and a reported 130 OFWs are stranded daily" following Kuwait's decision.
The Philippines thanked the Kuwaiti government for hearing the Philippines' side and for "the hospitality of its government and people to more than 200,000 Filipino workers who consider Kuwait as their second home."