DFA: No apologies to Kuwait PH stands ground on ‘violations,’ will protect troubled Pinoys

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Philippines will not apologize for its alleged violations that led to the Kuwaiti government’s order suspending the issuance of new entry visas to Filipinos, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

“The Philippine government’s position, President [Ferdinand] Marcos’ [Jr.] position is that we cannot apologize for protecting our workers. We cannot hold our own people accountable for doing their job which is to protect our overseas nationals,” DFA Undersecretary

Eduardo de Vega said in an interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source. In a related development, De Vega also clarified that the incident in Kuwait when an SUV driver plowed through a group of 60 Filipino cyclists -- resulting in 15 getting hurt -- was not a hate crime amid the visa issue between the two nations.

“It is not a hate crime against Filipinos. That’s not what it looks like. What happened was that for some time, there have been concerns in Kuwait over the