RP pulls out Sabah welfare office

The Philippine government has pulled out its welfare office in Sabah upon the demand of Malaysia, which urged Manila to establish a consulate in its stead to assist Filipinos there.

Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Lauro Baja Jr. said the DFA assigned two personnel from the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to attend to the needs of Filipinos in Sabah.

The two personnel would take over the functions which used to be performed by the Office of the Filipino Assistance Group (FAG) in Kota Kinabalu.

Baja said the possible establishment of a consulate in Sabah is also being discussed. This does not mean that there will be any change in the policy on the Philippine claim to Sabah, but merely for humanitarian assistance to Filipino nationals in the island, he added.

The decision to establish a consulate, Baja said, being "too political," may not be reached soon.

Earlier, Malaysia asked the Philippine government to close down its welfare office in Sabah and to recall all its "non-accredited" consular officers on or before Dec. 31 last year.

In place of the welfare office, Malaysian officials urged the government to set up a consulate in Sabah.

Philippine charges d’affaires Norberto Basilio met with Malaysian Deputy Secretary General Dato Ahmad Fuzi and Dato Zainal Abidin bin Mohamad Zain of the South East Asia and Pacific Division in Wisma Putra to discuss Malaysia’s position on the Philippine welfare office.

Embassy sources quoted Fuzi as saying that the FAG office was illegal, as it violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Practices.

"Secretary General Fuzi stressed to Ambassador Basilio that the FAG office cannot be accepted as it is not in accordance (with) the Vienna Convention," the embassy official said.

A Malaysian official also stressed that all DFA personnel from Manila going directly to Sabah without being part of the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur should have left before the end of 2002.

Fuzi said that Filipinos illegally staying in Sabah may be assisted solely by accredited consular officers and personnel from the Philippine embassy.

"If there is a need for additional personnel from the DFA Manila, then proposed assignments must be coursed through Wisma Putra for acceptance or objection before their arrival in Malaysia," the embassy official quoted Fuzi.

Basilio, in turn, emphasized that the Philippine Embassy has the right to send its personnel to any part of Malaysia to assist Filipinos in distress.

He also clarified that the house being rented by FAG did not carry a signboard, contrary to Malaysian media reports.

It was learned that the Philippine Embassy has not yet signed a lease contract on the house in Sabah, since this was still under consideration by the DFA’s Office of Legal Affairs and the Office of Fiscal Management.

"Therefore, there will be no contractual difficulty to close the FAG office except the payment of the expected rental and the encumbrance of the deposit money," the embassy source said.

Basilio said the FAG office, which used to operate in a hotel, was being used as a temporary residence as Filipinos illegally staying in Malaysia often approach the group for help on their travel documents.

FAG members usually go out of the house to locate thousands of illegally staying Filipinos for documentation, Basilio added.

However, embassy sources said Malaysian officials seemed "not impressed" and replied that the house rented by FAG was being used as a de facto consulate, to which the Malaysian government objects.

During the meeting, Fuzi proposed that the consular group from the Philippine embassy set up a representative office, but quickly added that it could be discussed by them with higher authorities.

In view of Malaysia’s demands, the embassy proposed that the DFA assign regular personnel to its embassy in Kuala Lumpur with proper accreditation to periodically go to Sabah on consular missions to assist undocumented Filipinos.

"The embassy badly needs additional staff members to do the information campaign, documentation and monitoring and processing of illegals in Sabah," the embassy official said.