RIYADH, Oct 21: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Kuwait Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah have expressed their intent to address the current labor issues between the Philippines and Kuwait.

Marcos said that HH the Crown Prince vowed to fix the labor agreement between the two countries. This came after Marcos’ brief meeting with the HH the Crown Prince on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Marcos disclosed during an interview with the Philippine media after his meeting with thousands of Filipinos in Riyadh that he had a pull aside meeting with HH the Crown Prince, who told him that he is displeased with the present Philippine-Kuwait relation and that the Philippines need not issue an apology.

HH the Crown Prince, the President said, apologized to him instead, saying he disagreed with what his people were doing.

“The words that he used, ‘Do not listen to them. I do not agree with what they have been doing.’ And, in fact, he said, ‘I do not want…There is no reason for you to apologize to us,’” Marcos said.

“We will fix it and we will make it because we love the Philippines.’ And he said, ‘Because I remember your father,’ Sabi niya, (he said)‘ He always supported Kuwait. He always supported us and we know that you will also always support us, that’s why we will fix this," Marcos said of the meeting that was initiated by HH the Crown Prince.

Marcos highlighted that the resolution of the country’s disagreement with Kuwait is one of the successes of his trip to Saudi Arabia to attend the 1st ASEAN-GCC Summit.

Marcos expressed optimism that the two nations would be able to resolve the issue.

“Sinasabi ko nga sa ating mga kasamahan na, just for that, worth it na itong biyahe natin dahil naayos natin ‘yung problema sa Kuwait, which talagang sumasakit ang ulo namin kung papaano namin gagawin (I tell our colleagues that our trip is worth it just for that because we have fixed the problem on Kuwait, which is really giving us a headache as to how to address it). But that is one of the, shall we say, successes that we can record from this trip,” Marcos stressed.

It can be recalled that Kuwait suspended the issuance of new entry and new work visas to all Filipinos in May this year due to the Philippines’ supposed non-compliance with the labor agreement between the two countries. 

The Philippine government temporarily banned the deployment of first-time household service workers to Kuwait in February this year following the slaying of Jullebee Ranara, whose burnt corpse was found in the desert, along Salmi road.

As of 2022, the estimated number of Filipinos in Kuwait is 279,000. The remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Kuwait amounted to US$576,059 in 2021 and US$579,186 last year.

Meanwhile, Filipinos in Kuwait welcomed this new development following the meeting of Marcos and HH the Crown Prince.

“This is really good news for us. We remain hopeful that this will be sorted out soon,” stated Marilen Santos, a sales associate in Kuwait.

Some also expressed optimism that the bilateral labor agreement between Kuwait and the Philippines will be carefully crafted this time so that it would be mutually beneficial to both countries.

“I believe officials of both countries should focus more on the protection and welfare of domestic workers. This is what we need most,” said Rosalie Lina, a household service worker in Kuwait.

By Michelle Fe Santiago