KUWAIT CITY: The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that it had notified the Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa to leave Kuwait in a week, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) said.
The ministry, which called the ambassador “persona non-grata” in Kuwait, said its action against the top Filipino envoy was in retaliation for undiplomatic acts by Philippine embassy staff who encouraged Filipino domestic workers to flee employers’ households, KUNA said.
Renato Villa on Tuesday issued an apology to Kuwait for the controversial “rescue” of Filipino household service workers from their employers’ homes which the Kuwaiti government viewed as a violation of its sovereignty.
Kuwait has protested over the “rescue” of Philippine citizens working as domestic helpers, and summoned the Philippine ambassador for an explanation.
The Philippines is one of the primary sources of domestic workers abroad, including the Middle East like Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said there are about 250,000 Filipinos working in Kuwait, most as domestic helpers.
