Mrs. Arroyo revealed yesterday she had been reassured by the Malaysian government headed by Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mahatir that the subjects of the ongoing deportation drive in Sabah were not overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have the proper documents to work in Malaysia.
"They (Filipino illegals) will not be deported all at the same time because Malaysia understands that if they do this, the deportees cannot be immediately absorbed back by their communities and they will just return to Malaysia," the President explained.
"Because we have very porous borders, Malaysia also believes that this repatriation to the Philippines should be orderly and on a gradual basis," the President said.
Sabah, on Borneo island, launched in February its biggest crackdown in decades to weed out illegal immigrants blamed for a growth in crime and other social problems in the state.
Of the 7,351 illegal immigrants deported from Sabah this year, 4,322 were Filipinos, 2,930 Indonesians and 99 other nationals. Last week another 1,147 Filipinos were put on two ferries bound for Zamboanga City in southern Philippines from Sandakan town.
The state aims to repatriate 30,000 Filipino illegals this year, up from 27,757 sent home last year.
In her regular Monday radio program "Panawagan ng Pangulo" yesterday, the President said she has instructed the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to lease an apartment in Sabah to house the temporary "consular mission" to help Filipinos being deported back to their former homes in Mindanao.
"(There) may be a long-drawn processing of papers and (we have) to take care of the welfare of our people there who have no documents," the President pointed out.
The President’s instruction to put up the "consular mission" in Sabah was taken to mean as a temporary arrangement since this could be misinterpreted by Malaysian authorities as an indication that the Philippine government is dropping its claims over the island of Sabah which Malaysia insists to be its own.
The President said the Philippine government, through agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), is closely coordinating with Malaysian authorities to ensure the orderly repatriation of Filipino illegals.
This was in response to concerns raised by Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Clara Lobregat who alerted national government officials that the 300 to 400 Filipino illegals deported in batches from Sabah were being ferried to Zamboanga City although the bulk of them were not residents there.
The Chief Executive reassured Mayor Lobregat that DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman is in charge of the re-assimilation of Filipino deportees into their communities and helping them find livelihood, new jobs and homes.