KUWAIT CITY, Dec 2: After the video of street vendors selling food in  the vicinity of the Philippine embassy in Kuwait went viral the embassy confirmed that they do not support nor advise to sell foodstuffs or any other product or service in the vicinity of the embassy.

Sources at the embassy advised the public to buy food only from places that are subject to Kuwaiti government quality controls, which ensure that food is handled and served safely, reports al rai. The embassy called on all its citizens in Kuwait to buy food which is hygienic and to respect the laws, rules and regulations of the host country.

Yesterday personnel from the Hawalli Security Directorate and the Kuwait Municipality raided the area around the Philippine Embassy in the suburb of Al-Siddiq after receiving many complaints that street vendors were very active in the area selling mostly home-made food, reports Al- Anba daily.

The daily said the authorities called this an uncivilized phenomenon and also caused inconvenience to the people visiting the embassy. The source added, when the vendors saw the Municipality workers and police, they fled from the area leaving behind their belongings which were then confiscated by the Municipality and destroyed.

Some of the foodstuffs sold were found to be expired and unfit for human consumption. The source said, it is hoped the Philippine embassy will not entertain such activity near its embassy and eliminate the phenomenon. “However, we will continue to pursue the vendors,” said a security source. The source stressed the Ministry of Interior will not allow private housing areas to be transformed into hotbeds for such phenomenon which is common in areas where bachelors live – places such as Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and Khaitan, and “We will continue to pursue them, and we hope the embassy will help us get rid of this phenomenon.”