Villa caught in crossfire, thrown under bus – Locsin

Teodoro Locsin Jr., the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations, wants the government to eventually ask Kuwait to withdraw its persona non grata label on Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Locsin said the Kuwaitis knew that Villa did not deserve the strongest censure a nation could slap on a foreign diplomat.

Villa was expelled from Kuwait after videos of Philippine Embassy staff rescuing distressed housemaids was uploaded on social media last month.

In retaliation, Kuwait recalled its ambassador to the Philippines and gave Villa a week to leave the oil-rich Gulf state.

‘He doesn’t deserve it’

“The priority after fixing [the] Kuwait issue is getting the persona non grata label off our good Ambassador Villa,” Locsin said.

“The Kuwaitis know he doesn’t deserve it and that he was caught in the crossfire and thrown under the bus,” Locsin said, adding that Villa should get a “great posting” since “good men are hard to find.”

Villa returned home on May 2.

“If anyone is a hero in this Kuwaiti problem it is [Ambassador] Renato Villa, the first [overseas Filipino worker] who became ambassador,” Locsin said in a tweet on May 3. —Dona Z. Pazzibugan