The president’s statement will touch upon a memorandum of understanding between Kuwait and the Philippines centred on guarantees for 252,000 Filipinos working in the Gulf nation. The Church will send a priest to Kuwait to help migrants and provide them with pastoral assistance.

Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) – President Rodrigo Duterte is set to announce in the coming days the government’s “course of action” on the diplomatic crisis caused by Kuwait’s expulsion of Philippines Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa, two days ago, Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Friday. The latest development concerns the treatment of Filipino migrants in the Gulf State.

Duterte, who arrived last night in Singapore for the 32nd summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), discussed possible actions in a meeting with Bello, Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Special Assistant to President Christopher "Bong" Go.

The Labour Secretary said that Duterte's announcement will partly refer to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) currently under discussions between Kuwait and the Philippines.

Both nations had previously tried to reach a deal in Manila, in the presence of the president, ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins on May 15.

A few hours before Bello's declarations, Manila asked Kuwait City to explain the expulsion of his ambassador.

The two nations are working on solving differences caused by the murder of a Filipina domestic worker whose body was found in the freezer of her employer in Kuwait at the start of this year.

Talks suffered a sharp setback last week after the Filipino government released a video showing embassy staff helping Filipino workers flee from abusive employers (videos). The latter provoked a harsh reaction by Kuwait, which called it a violation of its sovereignty.

As a result, Kuwait announced the expulsion of ambassador Renato Villa, the detention of four Filipino citizens hired by the Philippines embassy and the issuance of arrest warrants against three members of the embassy’s diplomatic staff.

Earlier this month Duterte had announced plans to visit Kuwait to seal an agreement on workplace safety guarantees for the 252,000 Filipinos working in the Gulf nation. The proposed deal sets terms for holiday leaves, food and custody of passports.

Some 10 million Filipinos work abroad, many in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Qatar. The money they remit back is a lifeline of the Philippine economy. In recent years, remittances saved the Philippines from financial crisis and remain one of the major sources of revenue for the national economy.

According to the Philippines’ central bank, Filipinos abroad sent home at least 1,400 billion pesos (US$ 2.6 billion) between January and November last year.

The Filipino Catholic Church has also been concerned about the situation of overseas Filipinos and their families, left in their native country.

Mgr Ruperto Santos, president of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), expressed regrets over the renewed tensions with Kuwait. “It is our prayers and hope that everything will be arranged peacefully in an amicably and diplomatically,” the bishop said.

Two days ago, the prelate announced that the Church was sending a priest to Kuwait to help Filipinos working in the Gulf State and provide them with pastoral care.

“To assist, be of service, and help our Filipino priests there in Kuwait for our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), our ECMI executive secretary will go there this May 1 to 31,” the bishop said. The ECMI executive secretary is Fr Restituto Ogsimer who has been working with commission since 2015.

Currently, there are three Filipino priests – Fr Ruben Barrameda, and Franciscan Fathers Ramon Atanacio and Alfredo Nicua – assigned to different churches in Kuwait: the Holy Family Cathedral in Kuwait City, St Therese in Salmiya, and Our Lady of Arabia in Almadhi.

“They also celebrate Masses at the Philippine embassy and in shelter homes, hear confessions, and do counselling,” said Bishop Santos.

• philippines
• kuwait
• migrants
• diplomatic spat
• ambassador
• expulsion