This file photo taken on April 21, 2018 shows Filipino Ambassador in Kuwait Renato PO Villa speaking during a press conference at the Philippines embassy in Kuwait City. AFP
Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa is a career diplomat with over 20 years experience at Philippine diplomatic posts in the Middle East.
His experience makes him well-versed with the problems faced by millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the region.
Villa also takes pride in being a former OFW himself, which gave him firsthand knowledge of the situation of expatriate workers.
Kuwait is his first assignment as ambassador. Villa assumed the post in June 2015.
He was “elated” when he was assigned to head the post in Kuwait, saying he wanted to help make “miracles” for Filipino workers there.
“I was really elated because once again I would be able to help our compatriots and hope to further strengthen our bilateral ties with Kuwait. I accepted Kuwait’s post because I knew from the start [that] if we work together, miracles can happen,” Villa said in an interview published in Kuwait Times on July 8, 2015.
Accidental diplomat
He described himself as an accidental diplomat since he took the foreign service officer exam while considering whether to return to Saudi Arabia, where he worked for three years as a technical writer for Saudi Petrochemicals.
He has been assigned to consular services in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from 1997 to 2003. This was followed by a posting to Amman, Jordan, from 2005 to 2008.
He returned to the Department of Foreign Affairs head office in Manila and was assigned to the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, which handled all migrant worker cases.
Villa was deployed to Malaysia from 2008 to 2012.
He has headed the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait for the last three years.
Around 250,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, mostly as domestic helpers.