Palace: Duterte still trusts Cayetano

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano still enjoys the trust and confidence of President Duterte despite a call by career officers at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for his resignation due to what they called “gross incompetence” that led to the diplomatic row with Kuwait.

Asked yesterday if Cayetano still had the backing of Duterte, presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. replied, “Yes.”

Roque, however, is leaving it up to Cayetano to answer the call of the career officers for the resignation of the foreign affairs secretary and his appointees.

In a statement yesterday, the DFA labeled a report of The STAR about the call of career diplomats for Cayetano’s resignation as “malicious.”

The career officers group pointed out that the President is the chief architect of Philippine foreign policy and engages in high stakes diplomacy, with the secretary of foreign affairs bridging the gap with the international community.

“Having no vision on foreign policy, Cayetano and his top aides miscalculated Kuwaiti reaction to the controversial rescue missions of distressed Filipino housemaids. This blunder resulted in the expulsion of our Ambassador to Kuwait, Rene (Renato) Villa, who was declared persona non grata by the host government,” the officers said.

The DFA said that the Union of Foreign Service Officers (UNIFORS), the Organization representing the career corps, has been inactive and that any position, statement or letter from the group would have to be circulated to the membership and signed by its leadership.

“The alleged clamor by career officials for the Secretary to resign as contained in the supposed letter came from some who do not represent the views of the entire career Foreign Service Corps,” the DFA said in a statement.

“Career officials remain committed to the highest standard of professionalism and patriotism. Under the guidance of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the career foreign service corps can be counted upon to pursue the President’s vision of an independent foreign policy,” it added.

Meanwhile, the government has stopped the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are hired by manpower agencies in Qatar.

In an advisory, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration chief Bernard Olalia said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) will cease to verify and process recruitment documents for outsourcing and subcontracting companies in Qatar.

“All verification and processing of documents for all categories of company workers being hired by manpower agencies shall be suspended,” Olalia said.

He said the suspension would be lifted only after the POLO and the Philippine embassy in Qatar have reviewed the labor market situation and submitted a recommendation to resume verification and processing of recruitment documents for agency-hired OFWs.

Only documents verified by the POLO prior to the issuance of the advisory will be processed and the OFWs deployed, Olalia noted.

According to Olalia, the government opted to suspend verification and processing amid mounting complaints of employment contract violations from OFWs employed by labor supply companies, cleaning and hospitality and subcontracting companies.

“The reported employment violations include non-payment and underpayment of monthly salaries and benefits, illegal termination, substitution of contracts and maltreatment,” Olalia said.

“Our workers will be in a better situation if they are employed in hotels, hospitals, schools and other establishments without being hired through manpower agencies,” Olalia added.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III yesterday expressed confidence that the Philippines and Kuwait would soon resolve their diplomatic row and forge an agreement ensuring the protection of OFWs in the Gulf nation.

In a radio interview, Bello said he is set to meet with his counterpart and several other Kuwaiti officials as part of efforts to resolve the recent diplomatic spat between the Philippines and Kuwait.

“According to the Kuwaiti ambassador, they are eager to see me,” Bello said, as he expressed optimism that the diplomatic row will be resolved.

He said he will fly to Kuwait as soon as the travel arrangements have been cleared.

The labor chief said he would be traveling to Kuwait along with representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Bello said upon their arrival in Kuwait, he would also negotiate for the release of two Philippine embassy drivers who were arrested after the video showing a rescue of distressed Filipino workers from the house of their employer went viral.

Labor group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) urged the government to resolve the row with Kuwait for the sake of thousands of OFWs there.

SENTRO further called on the government to put in place reintegration programs for all migrants who would be repatriated from Kuwait and other countries.

The group said the reintegration program should include not just job placement and training but also the establishment of a national savings program for migrant workers and their families.

The government should make jobs in the country more attractive to prevent thousands of workers from seeking employment overseas.

When President Duterte declared the deployment ban, other foreigners working in Kuwait were thankful because they were also covered by the amnesty program extended by the Kuwaiti government to OFWs, a Filipina who has been working in the Arab country for more than 20 years said.

Like some OFWs, foreigners working without permits were covered by the amnesty program that was extended up to three months, said Loraine Dulay, before returning to Kuwait last Monday night.

 “Saludo kami sa President nyo. (We salute your President),” Dulay quoted foreigners before her flight. “That makes me proud as a Filipina.” – With Rudy Santos