Philippine embassy in Kuwait battles backlog of requests caused by COVID-19

Cairo: The Philippine embassy in Kuwait is intensifying work to handle a backlog of requests resulting from COVID-19 restrictions in the country, Ambassador of the Philippines Mohd Noordin Lomondot has said.

The diplomat told Kuwaiti newspaper Al Raid that the consular section’s staff have been working daily from 7am for 12 hours since November 7 to expedite finalising the Filipino community’s paperwork requests.

The consular section handles 250 to 300 applications on average per day via extra work on shifts to serve the community affected by the curbs prompted by the global pandemic, Lomondot added.

He estimated the backlog at around 10,000 applications.

In July, the Philippine embassy in Kuwait suspended its services for two weeks after one of its employees had tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are around 250,000 Filipinos in Kuwait.