THE three diplomats who are facing arrest by the Kuwait government for rescuing distressed Filipino workers should be spared because they were only following orders from Manila, a Foreign Affairs insider said Friday.

Raul, who is a former consul general in Kuwait; a muslim diplomat who is from the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations; and Francis Baquiran who was posted before in Malaysia—all of whom are expert in rescuing distressed Filipino workers in conflict areas.

Aside from the three, the insider said DFA acting spokesman Elmer Cato and Arriola were also there; Cato was deployed because of his experience as consulate general in Baghdad.

The insider said that, the undersecretary may have brought some of the administration’s “spin-doctors” as the propaganda team, who uploaded videos of the rescue operations that earned Kuwait’s ire.

“That one single mistake burned the platform, our diplomatic relationship with Kuwait, and our goal to protect our [workers] there,” the insider said.

The insider also said that the RRT should only augment the numbers of embassy staff and not spearhead the rescue operation.

The three members of the team threatened with arrest are stuck in the Philippine Embassy.

Only those diplomats, like Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa, enjoy diplomatic immunity.

The insider said, the Kuwait government has already cut off Villa’s water supply in his residence and that he is now using the embassy to take a bath.

Meanwhile, another source who is privy to the DFA operation suggested the Department of Foreign Affairs to observe the “policy of quiet diplomacy” to let the tension die down.

“Let the emotions in Kuwait who were obviously offended to simmer down by maintaining strategic silence,” the source said.

The source reminded the DFA that there are numbers of women in shelters and workers to look after and that releasing a strong statement against Kuwait will not help.

“[They have to create] communication plan to achieve the above and maintain the status quo of OFWs in Kuwait,” the source added.

Aside from observing the strategic silence, the source also said that the DFA, through the leadership of Cayetano, should engage third party countries in the Gulf such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bharain, or the United Arab Emirates.

“[They should] do back channeling through a friendly country in the area,” the source said.

The source also said the DFA should make sure that access to embassy is unhampered.

“Communications between OFWs and their embassy is vital in maintaining calm and reducing their anxiety,” the source said.

The videos, which angered the Kuwait government, showed a woman running from a home and jumping into a waiting vehicle while another depicted a person sprinting from what looks like a construction site and then speeding off in a black sport utility vehicle.

Kuwait had branded the rescues a violation of its sovereignty, adding fuel to a simmering diplomatic row between the two nations sparked by the murder of a Filipino maid.

The video was released by Cato to the media and posted on several social media outlets.

There are 250,000 remaining OFWs in Kuwait.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that Kuwaiti authorities could not arrest Filipino diplomats or staff since they are covered by diplomatic immunity.

“All our diplomatic officers and staff have immunity. Those diplomatic officers have full diplomatic immunity,” Roque said.

The Palace official said that embassy personnel of every country in a foreign land have diplomatic immunity and that is their job to protect their own citizens from harm against people in the host countries.

However, Roque said he has no idea what charges were being readied against the Filipino staff who took part in the rescues.

The Palace official reiterated the Philippine government’s apology for the uncoordinated rescue of Filipino domestic workers which spread on social media.

Roque said that the President remains firm on his demand for the protection of Filipino workers in Kuwait despite the Kuwaiti government’s order expelling Villa.

Roque said the administration’s focus right now is to guarantee the safety of over 250,000 Filipino workers in the Gulf state amid recent developments involving the two countries.

“The bottom line is the President must stand for the welfare of our workers. And that’s non-negotiable,” he said.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III was set to fly to Kuwait to clarify issues concerning the embassy’s rescue of Filipino domestics and reports about their abuse and maltreatment.

He added that President Duterte was surprised by Kuwait’s expulsion of the Philippine ambassador.

Human Rights Watch has criticized Kuwait’s arrest of embassy staff who participated in the rescue operations.

“Kuwait’s recent arrests of two apparent Philippines embassy staff members for helping domestic workers escape an abusive is outrageous,” Rothna Begum, a Middle East women’s rights researcher for HRW said in a statement.

Begum said Kuwaiti authorities “should not be punishing them for helping domestic workers in danger.” Instead, Kuwait should be working with the Philippine embassy to help investigate and rescue distressed workers.

Cayetano on Friday said the expulsion of Villa has thrown back the signing of an agreement between the two countries to protect Filipino workers in the Gulf state.

Cayetano said it was up the the President to decide what to do next.

“Now that this is happening, why would I recommend that we sign the memorandum and lift the ban? But we’re hoping this will all be clarified,” Cayetano said on GMA News Unang Balita.

Duterte had earlier said he would witness the signing of the memorandum of understanding but this was before the flareup over the Philippine rescue missions.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon, a member of the House of Representatives’ committee on foreign affairs, said confidence-building measures between the two countries should be initiated following the “unfortunate but predictable response” of the Kuwaiti government.

“Sobriety must prevail in order to restore the relationship between the Philippines and Kuwait, which were already on the way to signing an agreement that would benefit Filipino workers in the Middle East state,” Biazon said in a statement.  / posted April 28, 2018 at 01:55 am by Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and Vito Barcelo, PNA