MANILA, MARCH 11, 2011 (STAR) By Pia Lee-Brago - Former Armed Forces chief retired Gen. Roy Cimatu remains a special envoy and chairman of the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Committee (PMEPC), but his role and the functions of his committee have been downgraded.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) sources said President Aquino had extended Cimatu as special envoy and chair of the PMEPC until June 30, 2011 but he has apparently been grounded.
"Gen. Cimatu is still special envoy and PMEPC chair as per Executive Order 159, issued by President Aquino on Jan. 6, 2011," a source said.
EO 20 extended the duration of the PMEPC operations until June 30, 2011.
Sources said Cimatu was supposed to lead the team from the DFA that flew to war-torn Libya last month to oversee the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers but he was instructed not to join the team.
"A DFA-DOLE committee, headed by DFA Undersecretary Rafel Seguis, has assumed the functions earlier undertaken by the PMEPC, and has been directing the almost completed repatriation efforts in Libya, as well as mapping out anticipatory measures in view of the ongoing tensions in the region, including reviewing the crisis contingency plans for each country therein," a senior diplomat said.
Former military budget officer George Rabusa had testified at the Senate public hearings that the late former Armed Forces chief Angelo Reyes received P50-million sendoff money upon his retirement, while Cimatu and former AFP chief Diomedio Villanueva received P10 million each in pasalubong or welcome gift when they assumed the AFP leadership.
Rabusa said the giving of cash gifts has been a tradition in the military for retiring generals.
Cimatu denied during a Senate hearing that he received any pasalubong or pabaon during his stint as AFP chief.
He said that his "priceless" farewell presents were the 40 medals and citations he received in his 37-year military career.
Cimatu, who was earlier ordered to proceed to Egypt, returned to Manila as the Senate began the investigation on the cash gifts allegedly received by former Armed Forces chiefs after their retirement.
Cimatu and DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affairs executive director Ricardo Endaya had embarked on a 10-day mission to Bagram Air Base in Kandahar and Kabul to assess the situation of Filipino workers inside US military bases in Afghanistan last January.
The team recommended and instructed the Philippine embassy in Pakistan to send a letter to the US State Department and the US Military Central Command to confirm the permission of the Philippine government to the continued stay of Filipino workers inside the US bases to finish their contracts.
The Philippine government granted permission to only 3,000 of the 6,000 OFWs working inside the US military facilities in Afghanistan.
First PAL flight picks up OFWs from Libya
A Philippine Airlines Boeing 777 jet departed last Tuesday night from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport bound for the island of Crete in Greece to pick up Filipino evacuees from Libya.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) chartered the special PAL flight (PR 008) to bring home at least 400 Filipinos currently awaiting repatriation at the Heraklion Airport in Crete. This batch of Filipinos is the biggest group of evacuees from Libya that would return home on board a single aircraft.
The special flight will arrive in Crete at 5:41 a.m. Wednesday and is expected to arrive in Manila at 1:10 a.m. today.
The DOLE and the DFA have coordinated with PAL to deploy evacuation flights.
Meanwhile, DOLE reported that the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Saudi Arabia continues, despite the impending protest actions in the oil-rich kingdom.
Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said the Philippine government is not inclined to impose a ban on the deployment of OFWs to Saudi Arabia.
"Our deployment of workers to Saudi is continuing and we have not received any recommendation from the DFA to impose a ban until this time," Cruz said.
There were reports that disgruntled citizens in Saudi Arabia are calling for massive demonstrations in the coming days in an effort to push for reforms in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.
Cruz, however, said that the situation in Saudi Arabia remained normal and the Philippine government is unlikely to stop or defer the deployment of Filipino workers to the Kingdom.
He said that the government is closely monitoring the situation in Saudi and that the estimated 1.5 million OFWs have been properly advised to take the necessary precautions.
Cruz said the government is more concerned over the political situation in Yemen, where there are about 2,000 Filipino workers.
"We believe the situation in Yemen is more serious, but we're still awaiting the DFA go signal for a possible evacuation of our people there," Cruz pointed out.
The Philippines does not have an embassy in Yemen so the DFA and labor officials in Riyadh would take charge in case there is need for an evacuation.
The government had deferred the deployment of OFWs in Yemen, Bahrain and Libya. The deployment ban in Bahrain is currently under review.
Cruz said about 6,000 Filipino workers from Libya are expected to arrive in the country in the next days.
He said the biggest bulk of 2,300 workers from Libya were scheduled to arrive yesterday and today. The rest of the OFWs would be flying home in smaller batches from Tunisia, Malta and Egypt where they are awaiting repatriation.
Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. had asked Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head Carlos Cao Jr. to cancel the licenses of recruitment agencies that failed to provide any assistance to the OFWs who were trapped in Libya.
Villar also urged the labor officials to submit a complete list of licensed recruitment agencies that have deployed OFWs in Libya and to indicate which of these did not participate in the current repatriation of workers.
He said that these agencies should not only be fined but should face penalties, including the cancellation of their licenses.
While there are erring recruiters, Villar noted that there are also some who deserve to be commended for responding to the calls for help of the OFWs.
Villar has filed a resolution lauding the effort of LBS Recruitment Agency and Paris-based VINCI Construction Grand Projects for rescuing 97 OFWs who were trapped in Libya.
Meanwhile, Fr. Edwin Corros, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People said the government should ask officials of Middle Eastern countries to allow the OFWs based in their country to practice their own religion.
Corros said the government should fight to allow people to practice their religious belief.
He added that when Filipinos travel to some countries in the Middle East, where only Islam is practiced, foreigners are banned from practicing their Christian faith.
"Our government leaders must learn to negotiate as well for the protection and preservation of the cultural and religious rights of our OFWs when they sign a memorandum of agreement, especially when they (are) deployed in countries that really rely on the important contribution of our people to these countries," Corros said. – With Mayen Jaymalin, Rudy Santos, Evelyn Macairan
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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