The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday, May 30, ruled out the possibility the accident in Kuwait where a motor vehicle hit several Filipino cyclists was a hate crime.
(Photo from Maya Cycle)
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Eduardo de Vega said this during the Laging Handa public briefing days after the surrender of the Kuwaiti driver to authorities.
“So far, walang indication na hate crime ito (there is no indication that it was a hate crime),” he said, noting the “dislike” of drivers to cyclists in Kuwait.
De Vega explained the accident that happened “will lead to more calls” from cyclists that they should be given “better protection.”
The DFA official cited the problem of having “aggressive” drivers in Kuwait, where previous road accidents did not involve Filipino cyclists.
“Ito iyong comment ng ating Embahada na matagal nang nagkakaproblema sa Kuwait tungkol sa accident involving cyclists, kasi hindi malinaw doon iyong rule sa cyclist, kasi walang bike lanes doon (This is the comment of the Embassy that the accident involving cyclists in Kuwait has been a longtime problem, because the rule there on cyclist is unclear and it has no bike lanes there),” he said.
He said the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait insisted permits were needed for the use of bike lanes since last week’s accident involved 50 Filipino bikers.
As of posting time, the DFA is still waiting for the result of the investigation conducted by the Kuwaiti government.
“By the way, I want to explain that so far, there is no evidence that it was related to current problems in labor deployment in Kuwait,” De Vega said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Asked about the Philippine legal action against the driver, he said it would depend on the Kuwaiti government.
“Kung kakasuhan iyan, masasama diyan through our lawyers, kasi iyong lawyers natin nagmo-monitor ‘no, iyong embassy lawyers natin. Hihingi tayo ng tinatawag na damages o danyos perhuwisyos sa driver (If a case will be filed, that will be included through our lawyers, because our embassy lawyers monitor. We will ask damages from the driver),” he said.