Chief Legal Counsel and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile on Saturday said Kuwait’s suspension of the issuance of visas for new Filipino workers in the Gulf state should be settled through diplomatic negotiations.
In his weekly television program, Enrile said while the Philippines respected the Kuwaiti government’s decision, the Philippines and Kuwait should continue to discuss and settle the issue.
“This is where our diplomacy comes in. That is Kuwait’s law, our law is different, let the two countries discuss that,” the president’s top legal counsel, who was a former Senate president, said. He did not elaborate.
Enrile’s comment came a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he would not impose a total deployment ban to Kuwait, citing that it would be an “overreaction” to Kuwait’s decision to ban new Filipino workers in their country.
“I’m never very comfortable imposing a ban,” Marcos told reporters on Friday.
“We can’t do anything. 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,” he said.