KUWAIT CITY –  Kuwait’s state-run news agency says the Philippines ambassador has one week to leave Kuwait amid a dispute between the two countries.

KUNA also reported Wednesday that the Gulf Arab nation was recalling its own ambassador from Manila.

Philippines Ambassador Renato Villa had made a public apology Tuesday over comments he made about his embassy helping abused housemaids in the country.

Kuwait police arrested two Filipinos earlier this week over helping maids flee their employers.

The Philippines banned workers from coming to Kuwait over abuse complaints after a dead Filipina was found in a freezer in an abandoned Kuwait City apartment in February.