DFA apologizes to Saudi embassy over arrest of diplomat’s wife

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has apologized to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the arrest of the wife of one of its attachés for alleged illegal recruiting.

According to an exclusive report on “24 Oras” on Wednesday, the DFA issued the apology after the diplomat's status was verified with the embassy.

“We issued a diplomatic note addressed to the Embassy expressing regret for the incident,” said DFA spokesperson Charles Jose at a press briefing.

Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, diplomats and their families cannot be arrested in the country where they are assigned.

However, Jose noted that the diplomatic immunity clause in the convention was put to help diplomats carry out their official work and “cannot be used as a cover to do illegal activities.”

The diplomat and his wife have already been released, but the Saudi Arabia embassy still protested the arrest.



“The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia... hopes that within this action necessary legal procedures would be undertaken against the perpetrators of this incident and to prevent its occurrence in the future,” it said in a statement.

Jose said it is up to the law enforcement agency — in this case the National Bureau of Investigation — to determine if it has a strong case against the suspect.

A source told GMA News that the NBI could bring the issue to the DFA it has sufficient evidence against the diplomat's wife. The DFA then may file a complaint with the Saudi Arabia embassy and request that the immunity on the diplomat be removed.

According to the “24 Oras” report, among those seized from the couple's home were passports and biodata of applicants who wished to go to the Middle East to work as domestic helpers.  —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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