Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Saturday a permanent ban on sending foreign workers from his country to Kuwait, calling on tens of thousands still working in the Gulf state to immediately return home. The move has escalated the current crisis between Kuwait and Manila. Last week, Kuwait expelled the Philippine ambassador over the actions of the Philippine embassy, which were deemed a violation of the local laws. "The ban stays permanently," Duterte said at a news briefing in southern Davao City on Sunday. "There will be no more recruitment for especially domestic helpers. No more." His announcement effectively dismissed the memorandum on labor rights and improving work conditions that he was set to sign during a visit to Kuwait, adding that he does not intend to travel to the Gulf state. Duterte said that Filipino workers already in Kuwait may stay in the country if they wish, adding that the government would try to assist those who want to return home in resettling in the Philippines. He said that efforts will be exerted to find them jobs in the Philippines, China or Japan. The Philippines banned workers entirely from Kuwait after the discovery of Joanna Demafelis body in a freezer in February. In late March, Lebanese officials said 40-year-old Lebanese national Nader Essam Assaf confessed to killing the woman along with his Syrian wife, who remains at large. Authorities say Assaf faces a possible death sentence. Tensions escalated between Kuwait and Manila when reports emerged that Philippine embassy personnel were involved in the smuggling of domestic workers from their employers’ homes in Kuwait. This sparked outrage in Kuwait and an apology from the Philippines. The apology did little to ease the tensions and Kuwait said that not enough efforts had been taken to stop the escape of the domestic workers, prompting the expulsion of the Philippine ambassador. The envoy acknowledged to the media that a Philippine team at the embassy had been helping domestic workers escape for over a month, while Philippine officials said that the Foreign Ministry had sent other teams to “rescue” the workers. Duterte said in January: "I do not want a quarrel with Kuwait. I respect their leaders.” More than 260,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, many of them as housemaids. The Philippines is a major labor exporter across the world, especially in the Middle East, with about a tenth of more than 100 million Filipinos working abroad. The earnings they send home have bolstered the Philippine economy for decades.