Kuwait announced on Wednesday that it was expelling the Philippine ambassador, giving him a week to leave the country. The decision was taken over the actions of the Philippine embassy in Kuwait, which were deemed a violation of the local laws.
Announcement of the diplomatic expulsion comes despite an apology to Kuwait on Tuesday by Philippine foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, after videos emerged of embassy staff helping Filipinos flee from employers.
"I apologize to my counterpart and we apologize to the Kuwaiti government, the Kuwaiti people and the leaders of Kuwait if they were offended by some actions taken by the Philippine embassy in Kuwait," Cayetano told reporters in Manila.
Kuwait was furious about the videos, saying they amount to a violation of its sovereignty.
Cayetano said that he had presented a clarification to the Kuwaiti ambassador in Manila. The Kuwaiti official voiced his understanding of the issue. The Philippine official will send a similar clarification to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid al-Sabah.
The envoy stressed that Manila was committed to following Kuwaiti laws, adding: “We respect the sovereignty of Kuwait and the state’s authority.”
“A mechanism of cooperation must be put in place in order prevent the reoccurrence of such developments,” Cayetano said.
The Kuwait Foreign Ministry had twice summoned the Philippine envoy over his statements to the media and over the actions of some employees at the Philippine embassy.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid al-Jarallah had demanded that the envoy turn over the embassy employees who had smuggled the domestic workers.
He stressed to Cayetano that Kuwait reserves the right to take the appropriate response to the Philippine actions, saying that his ministry will seek the arrest of the remaining suspects linked to the domestic workers case.
The Interior Ministry had arrested last week two suspects, who confessed to the crime and of inciting domestic workers to escape the homes of their employers.
