Photo: Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa
The Kuwaiti government has declared Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa as persona non grata (PNG) – a move arising from the recent “rescue operation” by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of Filipino household service workers from their alleged abusive employers, which the former maintained as a violation of their country’s sovereignty.
A diplomat being declared PNG indicates serious concerns by the declaring host country. The declaration is tantamount to strained ties between the two countries. It also bans the concerned person indefinitely from that country – in this case, Kuwait.
Persona non grata, a diplomatic term which means “unwelcomed person,” is an act done to prohibit the entry of a person in an area within the country or even within the entire country itself. This is usually applied to foreign diplomats but has since been applied to people of other walks of life. Here are a few individuals who were declared persona non grata in the recent years in the Philippines
Antonio Trillanes and Loida Nicolas-Lewis
In a report from ABS-CBN news last February 2018, the local officials of Davao City has declared Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as persona non grata since the senator has repeatedly claimed that Davao was the most dangerous area in the Philippines. Philanthropist Loida Nicolas-Lewis, on the other hand, was accused by the President of plotting to oust him saying that she conspired with the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity
Nathan Allen
International travel blogger Nathan Allen was declared persona non grata in May 2015 by the province of Sorsogon after he posted in his blog that he wasn’t offered any help by the local tourism office when he inquired about places that he can visit.
CNN reported that Frank Eric Ravanilla, the board member who filed the resolution, said that Allen’s post may have influenced tourists to not visit Sorsogon anymore.
Alec Baldwin
When Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin said that he wanted a “Filipina mail-order bride”, he got the attention of the Philippine government who issued a persona non grata to him in May 2009. The Philippine Star reports that Senator Ramon Revilla hit back at Baldwin saying: “Subukan niyang pumunta dito sa Pilipinas nang maghalo ang balat sa tinalupan.” (Try to come here to the Philippines and there’ll be trouble.)
