45 PINOYS STILL MISSING IN JAPAN / JAPAN 'POLITELY' TURNED DOWN RP HELP
[PHOTO - PHL AMBASSADOR DESIGNATE TO JAPAN MANUEL LOPEZ. FOR LIST OF PINOYS
RESCUED BY EMBASSY AND OTHER INFO PLS. GO TO http://tokyo.philembassy.net/]
MANILA, MARCH 19, 2011 (SUN-STAR) FORTY-FIVE Filipinos remain missing in the quake/tsunami devastated Japan based on the monitoring of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo.
This was confirmed by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario, who said the agency has yet to hear new feedback on their status.
"We are still looking for them," said del Rosario in a press briefing in Manila.
Based on the embassy website, three more names have been added to the initial list of 42.
These are Loramy Komatsu (Mesennuma-shi, Miyagi); Miho Komatsu (Mesennuma-shi, Miyagi); and Kenski Komatsu (Mesennuma-shi, Miyagi).
"May we request the following individuals to contact the Embassy as soon as possible. May we also request those who may have information on these individuals to let the Embassy know of their situation," said the embassy.
Del Rosario nevertheless insisted that no reports of Filipino injuries or fatalities in Japan have yet been confirmed based on information they have received.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez said the embassy teams that evacuated the 43 Filipinos from the Fukushima Prefecture and Sendai City in northern Japan Wednesday are set to go back to the affected areas.
"May mga Pilipino pa sa Fukushima at Sendai na gusto pumunta dito sa Tokyo... so gagawa kami ng paraan kung paano sila mare-repatriate sa Tokyo," said Lopez in a television interview.
It can be recalled that two embassy teams evacuated Filipinos away from the areas largely threatened by the burgeoning nuclear crisis in Japan.
On Wednesday, Japan's nuclear crisis appeared to be spinning out of control despite the government's scrambling efforts to prevent a disaster from taking place in the power plant.
The DFA had already raised the alert level in Japan to two and has encouraged voluntary repatriation among Filipino nationals.
It also reiterated its advisories to Filipinos to follow the exclusion zones around the Fukushima Daiichi and Daiini nuclear power plants set by the Japanese authorities.
The DFA chief also stressed that the Philippine government will only shoulder the cost of repatriation of Filipinos once the mandatory repatriation is declared and the alert level is raised to three.
"If, as determined by Japanese officials, relocation and repatriation become necessary, the Philippine Government will defray the cost to undertake the required measures to either relocate or repatriate Filipinos from the affected areas," said del Rosario. (AMN/Sunnex)
Japan thumbs down Noynoy's $14-million aid offer By Aytch S. de la Cruz and Michaela P. del Callar DAILY TRIBUNE 03/18/2011
PHOTO - Aquino and Ambassador Makoto Katsura]
MANILA -The Japanese government has "politely declined" the Philippines' offer of assistance to Japan's disaster-stricken communities in Japan even as President Aquino personally reiterated his pledged aid when he met with Ambassador Makoto Katsura yesterday morning.
Aquino had bragged about helping out the triple-whammied Japan with an offer of $14 million, saying that the Philippines was one of the first countries to offer help to catastrophe-struck Japan, but this offer was reportedly thumbed down by the Japanese government.
Katsura reportedly opted not to act on the types of assistance the Philippines has said it is willing to extend Japan.
Malacañang officials and Aquino himself do not take Japan's thumbing down of the Philippine offer as a rebuff or rejection of the offer.
Approached by reporters after gracing an awards ceremony held inside Malacañang yesterday, Aquino disclosed he was told by Katsura that the embassy is still waiting for word from home office on what "modalities" Japan can accept from a variety of assistance the Philippines has offered the Japanese government.
When Malacañang first announced it was giving Japan $14 million, it was portayed by the Palace as a cash donation of $14 million.
These days, Malacañang is no longer talking about the $14 million and speaks only of "modalities" by way of assistance.
Aquino said that a "polite rejection" is not what he understood from the statements of Katsura as he explained that the Japanese are just concerned about the dire conditions Philippine rescuers would have to deal with should they pursue their mission in the devastated areas of Japan.
"They did mention that part of Japan has very few English speakers. If we send a team over there, they have to be self-sufficient to include (bringing) items such as fuel, food, shelter. He (Katsura) did mention also that it is very cold in that part of Japan," Aquino explained.
Aquino implied that given the extent of damage left by the triple disasters which Japan is forced to deal with right now, the Japanese government certainly wouldn't wish to put the lives of foreign rescuers in peril as the Philippines pursues its mission to help.
"I think that is (what Japan ) meant with modalities that, aside from the specifications that their home office will (be) issuing…the people (who would like to) help would become a help and not more of a burden," Aquino stressed.
Presidentiial Communications head Secretary Ramon Carandang expressed understanding on the response conveyed by the Japanese government through its ambassador on the Philippine government's offer of assistance.
He reminded reporters that Japan is undergoing a very difficult period right as it deals with the consequences of a disaster upon a disaster, starting from the magnitude 9 earthquake that hit Sendai last Friday and the killer tsunamis plus the nuclear reactor explosions that followed.
"There are 91 countries at last count that have offered assistance to Japan. I think we should give them (Japan) time to decide which one they will accept, which one they will not—what kind of help they would accept. As we've said, as (Presidential Spokesman) Edwin (Lacierda) said, and as the President has said, we're ready to offer assistance within our means. It should not be taken as a rebuff if they have not accepted our offer yet," Carandang explained.
"Again, there are so many things happening in Japan, right now. They have so many problems that need to be resolved. We should not feel offended or anything like that if they still have not accepted our offer. We understand their problems and we sympathize with Japan and our offer of help comes in that spirit," he said.
Carandang, nonetheless, added that the Japanese government certainly would not stop the Philippines from sending teams and officials who will personally attend to the needs of Filipinos who have been also affected by the calamities there.
Lacierda said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) remains in touch with the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo to coordinate with the Japanese authorities concerning the chartered flight being arranged by the government using the C-130 planes sent to Japan for possible evacuation of Filipinos who would like to leave Japan.
"The repatriation and evacuation will rest to the assessment of our ambassador in Japan who has been sending teams to assess the conditions of our countrymen all over Japan," Aquino said, attesting to the statement of his spokesman.
Nearly a week after the devastating quake in Japan, the Philippines cannot still account for the more than 4,500 Filipinos living in Northeastern Japan, the region hardest hit by the disaster.
Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said "it is not for lack of effort" but the current conditions in Japan at the moment are "very fluid" and that Filipinos are spread out in hundreds of evacuation centers.
"There are many evacuation centers, in the thousands. At this point, the count is inaccurate but we are endeavoring as close to an account as possible and we hope that can be accomplished. We need to have that obviously so if there's a need to evacuate we need to account for everyone," Del Rosario said.
Del Rosario said the DFA sent out two to three teams in affected areas to make a count from the evacuation centers of Filipinos, however, "the numbers don't jibe."
"We asked them to explain why and they said many people in the area have already settled in their homes and are reluctant to go to evacuation centers," he said.
Del Rosario said he is "not making any excuses" as he apologized to the families who are awaiting information on the status of their relatives in Japan since Friday's 9-magnitude quake and tsunami that killed more than 3,000 people and left thousands more missing. There are about 4,600 Filipinos in the prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Ibaraki.
"We're making an earnest effort to put the numbers together so we can put our arms around the challenge. We're already addressing these as we speak," he said.
Del Rosario said the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo has not received reports of injured or dead Filipinos, but listed names of Filipinos whose whereabouts remain unknown after the quake.
He said the DFA has a contingency plan for Japan and is ready to evacuate Filipinos in areas heavily damaged by the quake and killer waves and those exposed to high levels of radiation, once it receives a go-signal from the Japanese government.
"If, as determined by Japanese officials, relocation and repatriation become necessary, the Philippine government will defray the cost to undertake the required measures to either relocate or repatriate Filipinos from the affected areas," Del Rosario said.
On Wednesday, a Philippine Embassy team relocated to Tokyo 43 Filipinos from Sendai and Fukushima in a bus which earlier brought relief goods to the Filipinos there.
The government is currently implementing alert level 2 in Japan, urging Filipinos to restrict their movements. Filipinos can also opt for voluntary repatriation, but the travel cost would have to be borne by them.
Government resources will only be used to evacuate Filipinos who do not have the means to return home from these countries once the alert level is raised to number 3, Del Rosario said. As a policy, employers of Filipino contract workers abroad are responsible for their repatriation expenses.
Meanwhile, Manila is waiting for the Japanese government's approval for the entry of a 40-man rescue team to Japan that will be transported by a military C-130 aircraft.
"They are fully equipped. They have their own food and water and an interpreter. The Japanese government made clear that they should sustain themselves. We're waiting for clearance from the Japanese government to say go and these people will use the C-130 as their transport to Japan," Del Rosario said.
The Philippines, he said, is also committed to provide relief goods such as bottled water and instant noodles to the quake victims.
Aquino reiterates offer of aid to Japan; PM 'Politely' Turned Down His Offer By Jill Beltran SUN-STAR Friday, March 18, 2011
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Thursday reiterated the government's willingness to assist Japan after an earthquake and a tsunami that hit the country, leaving thousands dead and homeless.
Aquino met with Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura at his residence in Makati City Thursday morning to personally extend the Filipino people's sympathy to Japan by signing the Book of Condolence.
"I reiterated the offer of the Philippine government and our people to assist them in whatever way and capacity we may have capabilities for," the President said. "They did tell us that they are awaiting word from their home office as to what type of assistance... I think the phrase he used was modalities in term of the accepting this assistance."
Aquino denied that Japan "politely" turned down the government's offer, noting that it merely observing extra care in assessing which assistance they will be accepting.
"They did mention that part of Japan (which was hardly-hit) has very few English speakers...If we send a team over them, they have to be sub-sufficient to include items like fuel, food, shelter...He did mention also that it is very cold in that part of Japan," he said.
"So if in case, we should be prepared that these are the conditions that our rescuers will face if we send them there. I think that is meant with modalities that aside from the specifications from their home office will be issuing, the people will help would become a help and not more of a burden," he stressed.
Asked about mandatory repatriation of Filipinos in Japan, Aquino said it will rest to the assessment of Philippine ambassador to Japan Manolo Lopez, who has been sending teams to assess the conditions of Filipinos all over the disaster-hit country.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the plan to send a C-130 cargo plane is also subject for the Japanese government's approval.
The aircraft would carry search-and-rescue teams and instant noodles to Japan and at the same time serve as transportation for Filipinos who want to leave the country.
"I think the DFA is in touch with the Japanese embassy right now," he said.
He, meanwhile, confirmed that the Cebu Pacific has also pledged assistance for Filipinos who wish to return home. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)
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