Cayetano says Kuwait filed kidnapping raps vs Filipino diplomats

Cayetano, however, stressed that no crime was committed as the Philippine government is only doing its duty (Screenshot from Department of Foreign Affairs video)

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed that Kuwait filed kidnapping raps against three Filipino diplomats and detained some staff of the Philippine embassy in the foreign country.

Welcoming the expelled Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa back to the country, Cayetano disclosed the news to the reporters on May 2, Wednesday, late in the evening.

“Kinasuhan sila ng kidnapping (They were charged with kidnapping),” he told the media at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, adding that the Gulf State accused the diplomats of taking the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) away from their homes.

He, however, stressed that no crime was committed as the Philippine government is only doing its duty.

“It has been our argument from the start that there is no violation of any conventions, there was no crime, etc.,” Cayetano said.

“That’s why out of the 38 rescues, 35 were coordinated, and the three we believed needed to be acted upon immediately, we did it ourselves which is acceptable and is a duty under international law,” he clarified.

Furthermore, Cayetano said that the Duterte administration’s move is “acceptable” but it caused a “commotion among” the Kuwaiti government.

“That’s why I said I apologized if our actions seem to violate your sovereignty. But let me assure you, it’s in the spirit of protecting our nationals,” the Foreign Affairs secretary earlier said.

The diplomatic rift between the two nations started when Kuwait was angered by a viral video online, showing the rescue operations of OFWs. The Gulf state argued that this violated their sovereignty. Apart from Cayetano’s apology, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte also said that he will take full responsibility for the incident.

Duterte also said in his recent speech that he will now keep silent on the matter and will not ‘attack’ Kuwait as there are ongoing talks right now.

(Read: Duterte aims for soft landing, keeps silent as Manila, Kuwait talk)

This spat also occurred in the middle of the negotiations for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two countries – a requirement by the Duterte administration to end the deployment ban of Filipino workers to Kuwait.

The Philippines issued the deployment ban after a reported series of killings of OFWs in the Gulf State.