NOY WON'T JOIN CALLS FOR GADHAFI TO RESIGN / IMELDA: BE LIKE FM, STEP DOWN
[PHOTO LAST YEAR WHEN NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT NOY AQUINO ordered DFA and other AGENCIES to be more responsive to OFWs]
MANILA, MARCH 2, 2011 (STAR) By Delon Porcalla - Pesident Aquino has opted not to join other world leaders in condemning embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, saying ensuring the safety of Filipinos in the strife-torn North African state is his primary concern.
"I may have the same opinion on a personal level but my first problem has to deal with the 26,000 people who are already there," he told Palace reporters in a briefing shortly after his first Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting Monday.
"All of my actions will be guided by not increasing the risks that they will be and are facing, or are being forced to face there. So that has to be clear. All instruments of this government will be attuned to making sure that the 26,000 are as safe as possible," he said.
"Hopefully it will not deteriorate further," Aquino said of the situation in Libya.
"Lebanon, when it had its crisis, roughly had the same number of Filipinos there, about 30,000 at that time. But only 6,000 opted to be moved at that time," he said.
"May we just say that countries richer than us, having more resources and intelligence resources, were not able to predict this situation," he said.
"Towards that end, currently we will be calling in perhaps specialists who will help us gather the necessary information so that we will have timely information in a more beneficial manner, especially for fast developing situations that have transpired, for instance in Egypt and also in Libya," the President stressed. "Ship will transport about 2,000 OFWs from Libya to Malta."
The Philippine government has already made arrangements for the evacuation of some overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya, who will be transferred to nearby Malta before their repatriation to Manila, Aquino said.
"There is a ship that we will be utilizing that will transport about 2,000-plus of our countrymen to Malta. So, we're moving substantial numbers already," he told Palace reporters.
Aquino also disclosed that acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Undersecretary Esteban Conejos have already set up a command post in Tunisia to address the concerns of displaced Filipinos.
"There is a potential here of having to move out the 26,000 (Filipinos), and that is no easy matter, regardless from whatever country you are."
Senate committee on foreign relations chair Loren Legarda expressed her support for Aquino's position.
"Of course we condemn any atrocities, the violence that has been inflicted on innocent civilians, in any country not only Libya, and we hope that more sense and compassion can be put into this whole thing," Legarda said.
"As a Filipino and as an elected representative of the people, at this point perhaps I cannot and should not call for any leader of any other nation to step down because we respect also their internal politics," she added.
For Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, there is no pressure on the Philippines to join the ouster call since it is not a superpower.
But she said overseas Filipino workers should not be used as basis for making foreign policy decisions.
– With Christina Mendez, Jaime Laude, Marvin Sy, Pia Lee-Brago
Safe access
As violence continues in many parts of Libya, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called on armed groups to give its personnel access to the western region of the country.
"This crisis has been going on for 14 days. It's high time, and absolutely vital, that the needs of people affected are met. We call on everyone taking part in the violence to respect the right of the wounded and sick to seek medical care, and to ensure that humanitarian assistance is able to reach those in need," ICRC director general Yves Daccord said in a press statement.
"Right now, the situation is far too unstable and insecure to enable much-needed help to enter western parts of the country," he said.
"Health and aid workers must be allowed to do their jobs safely. Patients must not be attacked, and ambulances and hospitals must not be misused. It's a matter of life and death," he added.
The ICRC has an emergency team that includes surgeons and nurses waiting in the Tunisian border to enter western Libya.
"We're very impressed by the professionalism of the Libyan medical staff and the way in which they dealt with the influx of injuries despite limited resources. There are still needs in terms of medical supplies and there is also a shortage of nurses," said ICRC surgeon Marco Baldan.
The ICRC now has nine delegates in Benghazi and is coordinating its efforts closely with those of the Libyan Red Crescent.
Budget cut hit
Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., for his part, blamed the cut in the DFA's budget for assistance to nationals for the slow government response to the Libyan crisis.
Villar, former chairman of the Senate committee on finance, said the P156 million for "assistance to nationals" was cut by almost half to P78 million.
Under the 2011 national budget, the DFA's budget was P10.98 billion or 13 percent lower than the P12.7-billion budget for last year.
Villar made the observation as he met with 18 OFWs who sought financial assistance for their return to their provinces.
"We must be always prepared for an emergency situation like this," said Villar.
He also described Del Rosario's trip to Libya as "photo opportunity" because he could have managed the situation without leaving the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Pangilinan urged the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and Department of Trade and Industry to work together to provide safety nets for returning OFWs from Libya and the Middle East.
"Bringing them home is the first step. Providing them the needed support to tide them over after being displaced is the next challenge," Pangilinan said.
"OWWA funds must be put to good use, and now is the time to use it to provide help in the interim to our citizens in need. Our government must be ready to cushion the impact by providing financial assistance to these displaced workers," Pangilinan said. – With Christina Mendez, Jaime Laude, Marvin Sy, Pia Lee-Brago
Imelda to Gadhafi: Be like Marcos, step down MANILA STANDARD MARCH 2, 2011
[EARLY PHOTO AT LEFT - Courtesy call of Philippine First lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos to Libyan President Col. Muammar Al Qaddafi during the MARCOS administration. Mrs. Marcos solicited the assistance of the Libyan President to mediate and eventually end the Muslim secessionist moves in Mindanao.]
FORMER First Lady Imelda Marcos (photo at right) on Monday urged Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi to step down to avoid more violence as opponents took control of more cities at the weekend.
Marcos, now representative of Ilocos Sur, said she hoped Gadhafi would follow the example of her late husband, Ferdinand Marcos, who fled into exile to the United States after a four-day, bloodless People Power revolt in February 1986.
"I hope he would be like Marcos, no bloodshed,' said Mrs. Marcos, who met with Gadhafi in 1976 and persuaded him to help resolve the insurgency in Muslim Mindanao.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, said Washington will assist Libyan rebels trying to force Gadhafi from power, as pro- democracy protests that have swept the Middle East spread to Oman and reignited in Tunisia.
"We've been reaching out to many different Libyans who are attempting to organize in the east and, as the revolution moves westward, there as well," Clinton said en route to Geneva for talks on Libya.
President Barack Obama's administration will provide "any kind of assistance" to those seeking to end Gadhafi's 41-year dictatorship, she said.
The disclosure of contacts with Gadhafi's opponents signaled an intensified US effort to prod him from power following military defections that have left much of the east coast in the hands of the rebels.
Unrest in Libya and Persian Gulf countries like Bahrain has roiled markets on concern oil supplies from the world's main region of crude production may be disrupted.
Armed anti-government forces deployed tanks and anti-aircraft weapons to defend Az Zawiyah, 45 kilometers west of the capital Tripoli, the Associated Press reported.
More than 1,000 people have died in the uprising, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has said and almost 100,000 have fled, according to UN estimates.
In Tunisia, interim Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi resigned, meeting a main demand of protesters.
Interim President Fouad Mebazaa named former foreign minister al-Baji al-Sebsi as the new prime minister and appealed for calm after demonstrations left at least three people dead.
Clinton on Monday was scheduled to meet with other foreign ministers at the UN Human Rights Council to discuss a coordinated response to Libya, including measures to pressure Gadhafi while building ties to opposition leaders.
Obama officials discussed the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya in talks with allied governments, The New York Times reported, citing an unidentified senior administration official. Bloomberg
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