The Philippine government has reported that it will continue to talk and negotiate with Kuwait on its decision to halt the issuance of new visas to Filipinos who want to work in the Middle Eastern country.
In a statement released on Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said: “It’s their country. Those are their rules. So, we will just leave that issue open and hopefully we will continue to negotiate with them. We will continue to consult with them at baka sakali, down the road ay magbago ang sitwasyon, maibalik ngayon ang ating mga workers, lalo na ‘yung mga nabitin.”
“Hopefully down the road, we will continue to work to improve that situation,” Marcos said during the 125th founding anniversary of the Philippine Navy in Manila.
Marcos noted that his administration does not want to “burn any bridges”, saying that when the situation improves in the future, the Philippines can again deploy OFWs to Kuwait.
“I don’t want to burn any bridges na sasabihin, baka in the future, baka in a little while, a few months from now, a year from now, sasabihin magbago ang sitwasyon…baka pwede pa tayong magpadala ulit ng mga ating workers sa Kuwait,” Marcos explained.
“Kaya’t…sometimes, overreaction ‘yung ban. Basta, ban na lang tayo ng ban. Hindi naman tama. We have to react to the situation as it is. And I think the proper reaction is to take the decision of the Kuwaiti government to no longer issue new visas,” he added.
To date, around 800 overseas Filipinos failed to enter Kuwait due to the new deployment ban.