Expelled PH ambassador to Kuwait arrives in Manila

Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa, who was declared persona non grata by the Gulf nation, arrived in Manila on Wednesday night.

Villa left his host government as the one-week deadline set by Kuwait ended.

He was expelled after videos of embassy staff rescuing domestic workers surfaced on social media, angering the Kuwaiti government.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano met Villa at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.

Villa’s expulsion came amid a diplomatic row between Manila and Kuwait.

But on Wednesday, Cayetano said the Philippines welcomed Kuwait’s call for calm amid the tension.

“This gesture on the part of Kuwait, a country with which we have shared history and strong people-to-people ties, will allow us to move forward and hurdle the challenges we face,” Cayetano said in a statement.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he would not quarrel with Kuwait, though he had called on 260,000 Filipino migrant workers in the Gulf country to come home. /atm