By Jonathan Dela Cruz
All is well, that ends well. Or so it seems.
After the diplomatic spat between the Philippines and Kuwait which saw the expulsion of our envoy, career diplomat Renato Villa, and the recall of the Kuwaiti ambassador for consultations, the stalled bilateral talks meant to review and reform our present worker (especially household workers) deployment program to that Gulf country is reported to resume within the week.
That is good news given the otherwise cordial relations between the two countries. We have more than 200,000 workers in Kuwait and Kuwait has multi-million dollar investments here.
President Duterte, who had earlier declared a permanent deployment ban of workers to Kuwait, said: “I am not going to attack anymore because we have ongoing talks …I’ve decided not to add to anything because they [Filipino workers] are still there..so it’s just soft landing for me..soft landing..I am not going to make careless remarks because so much is at stake.”
That conciliatory gesture from the President was duly reciprocated with praise and respect by Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al Jarallah who noted that his country “…appreciated the contributions of [the] Filipinos who are working in various sectors in Kuwait.” He said his country is keen in maintaining the safety and rights of all expatriates including Filipinos.
A number of prominent Kuwaiti businessmen, even some members of the ruling Al-Sabah family, interviewed by local media even recalled that during the first Gulf War, it was only the Filipino workers who stayed and kept their offices and households safe from burglars and other mayhem makers.
It was DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu who remains the country’s Special Envoy to the Middle East in a concurrent capacity who recalled the same observation of our countrymen’s heroic and loyal service in Kuwait during a hastily called meeting in Davao among President Duterte, Secretaries Alan Peter Cayetano and Silvestre Bello III and the Kuwaiti Ambassador and his senior officials the week before the escalation.
At the start of that tense meeting, Cimatu who was himself in Kuwait during the war, reminded the Kuwaiti ambassador that the Filipino workers proved themselves as they stayed in Kuwait all throughout the war even as most other expatriates left the country with their employers.
“Our workers stood by you in your hour of need, so we expect some measure of gratitude on your part by treating our workers well and making sure that they get their just due,” Cimatu said.
That broke the ice and the meeting was considered a success—until the release of that controversial “rescue video” by DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer Kato which apparently got members of the Kuwaiti Parliament on the warpath. It also surprised President Duterte who was in Singapore over the weekend and put him in a bind.
The President said he would take care of the matter and urged everybody to keep calm. As of this writing, we were informed that the diplomatic channels have reopened and the bilateral discussions have resumed.
We are now being told that Bello will proceed to Kuwait by next week to finalize the reformed RP-Kuwait Labor Agreement and, perhaps more importantly, reassure our workers that the Duterte administration is on the ball to ensure that their safety and welfare will be justly enhanced. Of course, he is expected to bring President Duterte’s good wishes when he calls on the Kuwaiti Emir and, as should be the case, bring home similar expressions of good wishes and assurances from the highest Kuwaiti leadership that our workers will be treated as properly and humanely as possible. SANA NA NGA.
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What was PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino trying to achieve anyway? This question is being asked Aquino released the list of barangay officials on the so-called narco list without even a by-your-leave from President Duterte and, better still, from the courts.
Really now, what prompted the otherwise well regarded police officer to release this list? Raw, validated or whatever, it remains a mystery. And now it is the butt of whispering and condemnation.
President Duterte himself had advised Aquino early on against releasing any such list.
He even told Aquino to just file cases against those suspected to be involved in the drug trade. Even the normally soft spoken Senator Greg Honasan castigated Aquino for the premature disclosure, as the same would unfairly subject the officials to trial by publicity and violate their rights.
Honasan’s mistah and former PNP Chief, Senator Ping Lacson, was even more aghast at the PDEA move. “Publicizing the intelligence report did not make sense. First, it could warn the persons concerned and second, they could be open to harassment or even risk of life which makes such move dumb and equally bad on both counts.”
Of course, the Commission on Human Rights issued a statement of concern saying the release of the list violated the rights of those listed and destroyed their lives. It was good they did not include in their statement a line or two against the “excesses” of the Duterte administration which has been de rigeur in their previous issuances.
With such bipartisan condemnation of his act, it is best for the PDEA chief to acknowledge his mistake and make amends. He can file the necessary cases soonest to avoid further damage. After all, he insists the list has been validated and that the agency is ready to go to court. So go.