Remembering September 11

We all have our stories of where we were when the event that would change the world took place. My husband and I were among guests at a despedida for ambassador designate to Nepal Michael Malinovski at Speaker and Mrs. Jose de Venecia’s residence in Dasmarinas Village. It could be said the entire American officialdom in Manila was at that send-away party. But just as toasts were exchanged on the enduring friendship word was silently sent to the Speaker that the World Trade Center had been ‘bombed’. The details were not yet in but the sender of the message was Boy Nakpil, Speaker Joe’s able assistant. He was driving towards Dasmarinas when he heard it over the radio. All present rushed around the television set just as pictures of the airplanes crashing through the Towers were being shown. There were gasps when the second plane came whirling to hit a tower at midpoint. At that time, it was not possible to assess the gravity of what happened, it seemed like a scene from a movie except that it was for real. The party broke up immediately with Malinovski, then charge d’affaires receiving a call from President Arroyo almost as soon as he saw CNN’s breaking news. I could hear the words, Yes, Mrs. President… we’re trying to find out. at the foyer, cellphone in hand, bidding the hosts good-bye and cars coming in. Other guests thought of loved ones in New York. Secretary Vincent Perez’s wife is a New Yorker and almost certainly thought of friends and relatives, the Speaker had two children and placed calls immediately to know how they were and hear a first hand version of what was happening.

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The Chinese poachers and Li Peng in Manila. Expect Li Peng to ask RP government for the immediate release of some 100 jailed Chinese poachers in Palawan. An unlikely suggestion to release the poachers has come from the business community. More than a hundred Chinese fishermen caught poaching in Philippine waters and jailed in the Palawan provincial jail for the past six months without any case filed against them."They have suffered in jail. Their vessels have been confiscated. Those are sufficient punishment under the Fisheries Code of the Philippines. All they wish is to go home," observed Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr."By turning them over to the Chinese embassy for repatriation, the government will decongest the Palawan provincial jail, save on food for inmates and serve the bigger interest of the Philippines of cultivating better relations with its neighbors," the export leader pointed out. Each of the confiscated vessels cost about P1.5 million for a total P7 million. Their take-over by Philippine authorities can more than make up for the fines imposed under the fishery law. For justice to be served, the boat captains can be made to stay and face the charges and the penalties of his crime if found guilty, he suggested.

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Another angle is that Filipinos are all over the world. When tackling problems of the illegality of foreigners it is important to keep this in mind. As Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Chairman Miguel Varela said rightly "keeping the Chinese in jail without charging them in court and treating them like criminals is courting international embarrassment." With Filipinos working all over the world and with more than 200,000 in Hong Kong , how we treat foreign workers affects how our own workers are treated. We can only demand fair treatment and justice if we do the same here,"Donald Dee of the Employers Confederation said. Li Peng, chair of the People’s National People’s Congress and the second highest ranking political leader of Chinas will be in Manila as official guest of the Philippine government.

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Beleaguered Filipinos in the US. Speaking of Filipinos in trouble, I was happy to receive a query from former Senator Wigberto Tañada about Filipinos under threat in the US. What about the Secretary of Foreign Affairs? If he can intercede for Chinese poachers, surely he should have the same concern for nine Filipinos jailed in Mansfield, Texas. Or maybe he has but there is no compelling interest from local media. I am surprised that while there have been noisy protests on the maltreatment of Filipinos deported from Malaysia, there is silence on nine Filipinos jailed in Mansfield, Texas.

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Uncanny similarity with deportation of Filipinos from the UK in the 80s. Or maybe I should not be surprised. I remember a similar threat to Filipinos in the UK in the 80s. Hundreds of Filipinos, were threatened with deportation allegedly for falsifying their applications even if these were filled out for them by their agents. It had to do with women who entered the UK as singles when they had in fact been married. This was described as deception and subject to deportation. We had to convince Filipinos to unite and fight for their rights before they could be helped by British sympathizers. The campaign on their behalf was called the Resident Domestics Campaign. It was supported by members from all political parties, labor unions and the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, at least early in the campaign, the RP government did not help.

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Those days in the UK have an uncanny similarity to what is happening in the US with Filipinos being targeted as "nationals of an Al-Qaeda friendly country." In the British version, Filipinos were said to be easy targets because they are not organized and seldom have strong support from their government. That seems to be happening in the US as well with the community divided on how to approach the problem of "illegal" Filipinos, no interest in Philippine or US media and no statement of support from the Philippine government. I hope former Senator Tanada can spark some interest in the case of Filipinos under threat in the US. If it is any consolation, the Resident Domestics Campaign in the UK had a happy ending with Filipinos able to fight their individual cases in UK courts before they are deported. The onus was put on the immigration to prove their case rather than on Filipinos jailed or deported without due process .

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All systems go in NAIA 3. I am glad that Philippine International Air Terminals, Inc.(PIATCO) is taking the tack that as far asits duty is concerned it lies with opening the new airport as quickly as it can. That is where public interest lies. PIATCO—lawyer spokesman Moises Tolentino assured 33 international airlines operating at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that requirements for safe and smooth operations at the NAIA terminal 3 will be met when the new state-of-the-art facility opens for operations in late November, this year.

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