Can’t keep Kuwait?

Iremembered one of those “Rush Hour” movies while surfing for updates on the fiasco created by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Kuwait recently. Or to be specific, I remember “Rush Hour 2.” The pairing of Hong Kong’s Jackie Chan with America’s Chris Tucker was an odd one, but it clicked with audiences in 1998. “Rush Hour 1” was set in Los Angeles, the home base of the Tucker character James Carter, to Hong Kong, the home base of the Chan character Inspector Lee.

A reticent martial arts expert paired with a talkative almost bungling character made for a number of laughs. But that was not the only thing that made those Rush Hour movies interesting for me. The other was how they illustrated the limits of what a foreigner can do in another country even if that foreigner is a law enforcer.

That was Inspector Lee in Los Angeles and James Carter in Hong Kong. Lee’s style got cramped in Los Angeles while Carter’s style got cramped in Hong Kong. Each has to follow the rules of the country where they were operating.

Lee in Los Angeles and Carter in Hong Kong meant well. As law enforcers they were out to solve criminal cases. In a way, the official intention by the DFA to send a delegation from the Philippines to Kuwait was also good. According to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, the delegation was sent there to augment the personnel of the Philippine embassy in Kuwait that was overwhelmed by the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who wanted to go home.

Cayetano insisted the delegation was not on a “covert” mission to rescue Filipino workers who complained of suffering abuses from their employers. But that was Cayetano speaking after the fact. Because judging from the video that a DFA official posted on the Internet, what the delegation did was “rescue” the workers without the knowledge of Kuwaiti authorities.

Interestingly, if the delegation sent to Kuwait was an augmentation force, why were DDS (Duterte diehard supporters) bloggers Rey Joseph “RJ” Nieto and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) assistant secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson there? Were they there to help the personnel of the Philippine embassy in Kuwait or were they sent there to publicize what the embassy was about to do?

Didn’t our Philippine embassy officials in Kuwait and the “augmentation force” see “Rush Hour”? Okay, I am joking. Those officials surely know international law or were taught how to conduct themselves well in a foreign land. Why didn’t they coordinate with Kuwaiti authorities? The viral video showed an official helping a Filipino worker carry her luggage and prodding her to run to a waiting vehicle driven by a Filipino.

And why post the video online? That had even the former comedian and now Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Arnell Ignacio post this rant on social media:

“Ilang beses na sinabi na wag magpost ng ganitong operasyon..ayan magdurusa ngayon mga OFW natin lalo. Nakipagsara pa naman tayo sa pribadong sector ng Kuwait na magtayo ng OFW academy, OFW day-off center, OFW central rapid response unit, massive campaign for Filipino-Kuwait brotherhood. Approved

na lahat tapos ito...Haay, ano ba talaga gusto niyo!”