Philippine embassy helps abused workers run away
Kuwait summons envoy, hands him two protest notes over violation of diplomatic norms
Kuwait has protested to the Philippines following “serious offences” that included conducting operations to whisk domestic workers away from their employers’ homes in diplomatic vans.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned on Friday the Philippines ambassador to Kuwait and handed him two protest notes.
A spokesperson for the ministry said the notes were “related to recent remarks by several Filipino officials which [amounted to] serious offences against the State of Kuwait and [led] to the actions some embassy employees in violation of the diplomatic norms governing relations between the two countries as per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) reported.
The spokesperson “expressed regret over such practices which could harm the friendship between the two countries”.
On Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine embassy in Kuwait, together with an augmentation team from the home office, has been working overtime in the past two weeks to take custody of as many as 200 distraught Filipinos who have been awaiting rescue.
It added seven teams under the supervision of Executive Director Raul Dado of the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs have been carrying out the rescue operations with the assistance of Kuwaiti authorities.
However, although rescue operations required Kuwaiti police assistance, Dado said that, in some cases, rescue teams had to do it on their own, especially in cases of sexual and physical abuse.
On Thursday, the Philippine Star daily reported that rescue teams went as far as knocking on doors to find Filipino domestic helpers who have cried out for help.
The DFA said that “26 Filipino workers have been rescued since April 7 and released a video that showed how two operations were carried out.
“If the household service worker has injuries, Kuwaiti police are immediately called in and the embassy takes custody of the Filipino,” the DFA said.
In Kuwait City, Philippine ambassador Renato Pedro O. Villa reportedly said the intervention of the embassy was not arbitrary and that it was a necessity.