PH won't apologize for OFW shelters in Kuwait

The Philippine government will not apologize for caring and providing shelter for runaway Filipinos in Kuwait despite the fact it is the reason why the Gulf state has suspended new visa entry from the Philippines, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Tuesday, May 30. DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said it is President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s position that the Philippines must stand its ground in terms of protecting Filipinos abroad. "Sinabi ng presidente... na hindi tayo hihingi ng tawad... bakit tayo... humingi ba tayo ng tawad dahil sa mga naabusong mga maids or mga namamatay na kababayan natin? (The President said... that we will not apologize... why would we do that... should we apologize for the abused Filipinos maids or for Filipinos who were killed?)" de Vega said in a Laging Handa briefing. "Eh pinoprotektahan lang natin yung ating mga kababayan, 'no (We're just protecting our nationals)," he added. Removing shelters for Filipinos, admitting that the Philippines violated Kuwaiti laws, apologizing for it and filing administrative charges against Philippine government personnel there who reached out to runaway Filipinos and their employers are among the demands the Gulf state made on the Philippines, according to de Vega. But the Philippine government will not oblige, he added. "Lalong lalo na, hindi natin kakasuhan yung mga kawani ng pamahalaan... na nandoon simply because masyadong ganado sila magprotect sa ating mga nationals (Most especially, we will not file charges against our officials, who were simply doing their jobs well in protecting our nationals)," de Vega said. De Vega said the country's position is that "we do not have any violations and if there really is, they have to listen to our explanation." "Meron ding international law or function yung mga embassies na protektahan nila yung kanilang mga nationals (There is an international law or the embassies have functions to protect their nationals)," he said. In 2018, de Vega said, the Philippine government already went against Kuwait for not only providing shelter for runaway Filipinos but also urging them to flee from their employers. But he added, the government already apologized for it. The DFA official said he is hoping that another negotiation would take place in July. He assured Filipinos in Kuwait that the Philippine government will continue to coordinate with them and no repatriation is needed.