MANILA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines said on Thursday that it finds "disturbing" the decision of Kuwaiti government to expel the Philippines' ambassador to Kuwait.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano maintained that the Philippines did not violate any Kuwaiti laws.
On Wednesday night, the Kuwaiti government said it declared Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa persona non grata and that the State of Kuwait finds him "unacceptable." Villa was given a week to leave the Gulf state.
The Philippines on Thursday protested Villa's expulsion, the arrest warrants against its three diplomats and the detention of four other Filipinos as the diplomatic row heats up.
"The Department served a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Kuwait conveying its strong surprise and great displeasure over the declaration of Ambassador Villa as persona non grata; the continued detention of four Filipinos hired by the Philippine Embassy; and the issuance of arrest warrants against three diplomatic personnel," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a second statement issued on Thursday.
The department said these acts are "inconsistent" with the assurances and representations made by the Kuwaiti envoy when he met with Cayetano in Manila on April 24.
The Kuwaiti government was angered by the Philippine embassy's move last week to conduct rescue operation of mostly distraught Filipino maids who allegedly experienced cruelty in the hands of their Kuwaiti employers.
Kuwait's decision to expel Villa came a day after Cayetano issued a public and formal apology to Kuwait "for certain incidents that the Kuwaiti view as violation of their sovereignty."
The Department of Foreign Affairs distributed videos of the rescue mission that went viral online, further enraging Kuwait, which accused Manila of violating international laws and its sovereignty.
The department sent a team of senior Philippine diplomats to Kuwait last week to execute the rescue operation, which Kuwait called "inappropriate behavior."
Kuwait's state news also reported that the Kuwaiti government has downgraded its diplomatic representation in the Philippines by ordering the recall of its envoy in Manila.
Kuwait is a major labor destination for Filipinos in the Middle East, with over 250,000 currently working there, mostly as domestic helpers.
However, recent incidents of abuses against them, with some resulted in death, prompted the Philippine government to enforce a deployment ban for Filipino workers earlier this year.
