By Genalyn D. Kabiling
After stopping their deployment due to alleged abuses, President Duterte is expected to visit Kuwait to check the plight of remaining Filipino workers.
The invitation to visit Kuwait was extended by Kuwaiti Ambassador the Philippines Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh during a meeting with the President in Malacañang last Wednesday. The ambassador reportedly tried to assure the President of the protection of migrant workers in Kuwait.
“Any day now I will be going to Kuwait. The ambassador was here. I was angry after four Filipinas were…they raped them,” the President said in the Visayan dialect during an assembly of rebel returnees in Malacañang Wednesday night.
Duterte had earlier ordered the Department of Labor and Employment to suspend the deployment of Filipinos bound for Kuwait following the deaths of several workers.
He has warned of a pullout of other Filipinos working in Kuwait if another citizen dies due to abuse and exploitation. He said he would ask China to open its doors to accommodate displaced Filipino workers.
In a Palace news conference yesterday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Kuwait has assured the President about the protection of the migrant workers and extended an invitation to visit the Gulf state to see their situation for himself.
“There’s a trip in the offing to Kuwait. I can only surmise that the investigation was made during the bilateral meeting with the ambassador,” Roque said.
“Kuwait wants to assure the President that Filipino nationals are protected in Kuwait and to see for himself,” he added.
The President had also said he does want a quarrel with Kuwait but appealed to Kuwait and other Arab nations to treat Filipinos with fairness, respect, and dignity.
Duterte said he was prepared to lose friendship with countries that host a large number of Filipinos if they allow violence and sexual abuse to persist in the workplace.