Kuwait urges calm in wake of Duterte ban

Kuwait’s foreign minister has sought to assuage a feeling of unease in the Philippines following a case in which a dead Filipina was found in a freezer.

It’s the latest case to draw the anger of populist Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, whose government initially indicated it was considering banning its citizens from working in Kuwait, which has provided employment to some 170,000 Filipinos.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Kuwaiti foreign minister Sabah Khalid Al Sabah said: “This escalation will not benefit the relationship between Kuwait and the Philippines.”

He also said that Kuwait warmly welcomed Filipino workers.

On Monday, the Philippines’ Department of Labour and Employment had issued an order calling for “a total ban on deployment of all overseas Filipino workers to Kuwait.”

Clarifications

The Philippine labour department has since issued new guidelines clarifying the ban amid prevailing confusion over the enforcement of the restrictions.

Department of Labour and Employment Secretary Silvastre Bello yesterday issued an order that listed exemptions from the earlier one banning deployment of workers to Kuwait. These include “workers who are vacationing in the Philippines and will be returning to the same employer to finish their contracts at the end of his or her vacation”. Likewise, workers who are returning to Kuwait on a new contract with the same employer are also not covered by the ban.

Filipino sailors who would be resuming service on their ships or transiting or boarding in Kuwait are also exempted from the ban.