Duterte says no hatred toward Kuwait, asks Filipinos to come home

President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said he has no hatred toward the Kuwaiti government even as he asked all Filipinos in the Gulf state to return home.

"I address, myself, to the Kuwait government and the people: Salamat sa tulong ninyo sa mga kababayan ko all these years. It is a debt of gratitude na, after all, nakatulong namin kayo. So wala akong galit. Walang hatred. Wala lahat," " the President said in a speech in Singapore.

"Pero kung the presence of the Filipino, if it is a burden, nabibigatan kayo sa pagdala sa kanila, allow us to get them out," he added.

The President clarified he had no intention of worsening the diplomatic row over the state of Filipino workers in Kuwait, but said he could not just accept what is happening to his countrymen working there.

"Salamat to the government of Kuwait. Thank you for your generosity for your generosity in the past years. I am appealing to my countrymen to come home. Apparently, it seems that you do not like the way they are expected to serve their employers. I'm sorry for that," he said.

"So lahat kayong Pilipinong nakikinig, umuwi nalang kayo sa Pilipinas. Total, marami nang trabaho," he added.

According to the Foreign Affairs Department, there were 260,000 Filipinos working in Kuwait, with more than 65 percent of them domestic helpers.

China funds

During his speech, Duterte hinted the government's plan to repatriate more Filipinos from Kuwait because of the diplomatic row.

He said he is planning to use at least P5 billion from China, supposedly alloted for education, for the repatriation of thousands of overseas Filipino workers.

"Apparently, lumalabas na parang may galit sila sa mga Pilipino. Parang ayaw ninyo [ang Pilipino]," he said.

"Sana gamitin ko 'yun para sa ibang project...I tell you, it's about five...four point something, almost five billion. 'Yung pera na 'yan, gagastusin ko na lang para kunin ko 'yung lahat ng gustong umuwi," he said.

Saying he would exhaust the fund "to the last centavo" just to bring Filipinos back to the country, Duterte made an appeal to the Gulf state to see to it that no harm comes to his countrymen.

"Do not hurt them. Just help us. I will look for money at kukunin ko lahat ng trabahanteng Pilipino. Bahala nang mang-utang ako, kung anong gagawin ko," he said.

"Just do not hurt them. I plead that they be given a treatment deserving of a human being," he added.

Diplomatic row

Earlier this week, the last batch of distressed and undocumented overseas Filipino workers who availed of the Kuwaiti government's amnesty program arrived home.

Officials said there were at least 10,000 undocumented Filipino workers in Kuwait, but only half of the number availed of the amnesty program and have been repatriated.

The government said majority of the 250,000 Filipinos in Kuwait are household workers.

Duterte had ordered an employment ban on new workers going to Kuwait due to recent reports of brutality by employers. The worst recently reported was the case of Joanna Demafelis whose battered body was discovered in a freezer of her employers' abandoned apartment.

Her murder also triggered negotiations between the Philippines and the Kuwaiti government for a Memorandum of Agreement to protect OFWs in the Gulf state.

These talks were put on hold earlier this week after Kuwait expelled Philippines Ambassador Renato Villa and recalled their Kuwaiti envoy Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh from the Embassy in Manila.

The angered Gulf state accused Manila of violating international laws and its sovereignty after videos of OFW rescue missions — distributed to the Philippine media by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) — went viral online.

The DFA has served a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Kuwait conveying its "strong surprise" and "great displeasure" over the declaration of Ambassador Villa as persona non grata, which came with arrest warrants issued against three diplomatic personnel and the continued detention of four more Filipinos hired by the Philippine Embassy.

DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the actions against the Philippine officials were  “inconsistent” with the assurances and representations made by the Kuwaiti envoy in a meeting they had in Manila on April 24.

“In that meeting, Secretary Cayetano inquired on the status of Ambassador Villa in Kuwait and Ambassador Althwaikh stated that he is welcome to stay in Kuwait until the end of his tour of duty, and that the government of Kuwait ‘likes’ Ambassador Villa very much,” the DFA said.

The Gulf state’s decision to expel Villa came a day after Cayetano issued a public and formal apology to Kuwait over the rescue of OFWs. —ALG, GMA News