By Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos
SINGAPORE – Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said here yesterday that President Duterte was surprised when Kuwait declared Ambassador Renato Villa persona non grata for the rescue of abused overseas Filipino workers and ordered the Philippine envoy to leave within the week.
Bello said that Duterte was surprised since Ambassador Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh assured them that Kuwait still has good relations with the Philippines despite the incident.
“President Duterte was surprised kasi after our Davao meeting, everything appeared to be alright,” Bello said. “In fact, after that meeting in Davao, the ambassador and I who went to Davao together immediately asked me, ‘Your Excellency, when will you sign the MoU?’ And I said, ‘Very soon.’ And even before I left from Manila for Singapore, this was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, I had a quick conversation with the ambassador. He then again reiterated his eagerness for the signing of the MoU,” he added.
Bello said that he has received permission from Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Ca yetano to go to Kuwait to personally assess the situation after Labor Day.
“I will go to Kuwait to find out the real situation kasi maraming speculation. And then also, hopefully, I could talk to my counterpart and find out if there is still a possibility of strengthening the existing good relations between our country and their country,” he said.
