Better late than never

OFWs who have successfully escaped from Libya declared that the only workers left in Libya are Filipinos. As of Wednesday, only about 3,500 Filipino OFWs out of 30,000 have been evacuated out of Libya.  About 15,000 are still trapped inside Libya. Compare that to China which immediately evacuated 29,000 of its nationals in 5 days. Pakistan, India, Korea, Nigeria and Thailand also quickly evacuated their people.

Why did it take 10 days to hire a ship from Greece to pick up 1,725 Filipinos in Bhengazi? Also, ten days to charter an airplane to pick up OFWs from Bhengazi to ferry them to Crete? It had to take Acting Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to go himself to Tunisia and to Libya to expedite action. Main reason for the delay is the lack of funds released. DFA claimed it released $150,000 to the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli. It was only a few days ago that OWWA released P125 million for the ship and airplane charters. Another reason could be that for the first 3 weeks of February, Malacañang was preoccupied with the preparations and activities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Edsa. And then there were a small number of personnel deployed at the Philippine Embassy in Libya.

It is fortunate that despite the late action of the Aquino officials, no OFWs were killed in the fighting. The worst that happened was the looting and robbing of all their valuables and the stress, hunger and extreme weariness caused by the many days of waiting and travel.

Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are not the last countries to experience a political upheaval. Protests are ongoing in Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and now Oman.

It is hoped that Malacañang, DFA, DOLE as well as DOE will take appropriate steps to prepare for these contingencies.

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NO EXACT FIGURES. . . We tried to get an authoritative list of OFWs in the different countries worldwide from DOLE but none was available except for a list compiled by the Commission on Overseas Filipinos (COF) entitled “Stock Estimates” as of December 2009.

The COF reports a stock estimate of 8,579,378 as of December 2009 or probably 9.4 million as of December 2010 which includes immigrants.

 The top 12 countries with the most number of OFWs are:

1. United States - 2,500,000

2. Saudi Arabia - 330,000

3. United Arab Emirates - 220,000

4. Hong Kong - 130,000

(Add 8,000 for Macau)

5. Qatar - 107,000

6. Australia - 100,000

7. Singapore - 65,000

8. Kuwait - 55,000

9. Taiwan - 50,000

(MECO estimates 80,000)

10. Italy - 33,000

11. Libya - 30,000

12. Bahrain - 25,000

It would really be difficult to get an accurate number because of the illegal workers who left as tourists without OWWA registration.

Other countries with sizeable number of OFWs are: Korea, Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, Norway, China, Germany, Malaysia, Equatorial Guinea, Spain, Israel, Oman, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Ireland, Iraq, Nigeria and Angola.

In the Middle East, there’s an estimated 2,000 workers in Yemen, 3,000 in Jordan, 3,000 in Cyprus, 3,000 in Lebanon, 4,000 in Sudan, 6,000 in Algeria and 12,000 in Oman.

Malacañang should now direct all embassies and consulates to submit an updated estimate of Filipinos in their area.

Evacuation plans must now be prepared for Algeria, Lebanon, Yemen, Jordan, UAE and Oman which are potential powder kegs. OWWA must now deploy additional personnel to these countries with appropriate funds.

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LAKAS BET. . . Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. has been elected president of the Lakas-NUCP Party. Cong. Edcel Lagman (Albay, 1st dist.)  was elected chairman. Bong who topped the 2010 Senatorial elections and has a whopping 19 million votes is now the presumptive bet for President of Lakas in 2016.

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MANGYAN CULTURE. . . In a bid to preserve the Mangyan culture and promote their products and sources of livelihood, Senator Loren Legarda has organized an exhibit, “Mangyans of Mindoro: Myth and Meaning”, which will showcase the Mangyan people’s craftsmanship and rich heritage.

The exhibit, which will be held from March 1 to 25, 2011, at the 2nd Floor Hallway of the Senate, is in partnership with the Mangyan Heritage Center, Oriental Mindoro Tourism Office, the National Museum and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

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WEDDING OF THE CENTURY. . . The wedding of Carla Maria Salimbangon to Londoner Christopher Mckowen at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral last Saturday. Carla is the oldest daughter of Mariquita Salimbangon and Carlos Yeung, the top jeweller of Hong Kong. She’s a lawyer who finished her studies in London.

 The wedding was solemnized by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, concelebrated by 18 priests. The principal sponsors were headed by President Joseph Estrada, Vice President Jojo Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Rep. Imelda Marcos and Governor Gwen Garcia.

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TIDBITS. . .  Speaker Sonny Belmonte said they have the 94 votes necessary to send the Merceditas Gutierrez impeachment case to the Senate. It is doubtful whether the 16 Senators needed to convict can be secured. . .

DSWD Sec. Corazon Soliman told us in a DZRJ-AM interview that they are ready to pay out the P1,400 cash transfer to 325,000 families this month. . .

Sen. Ralph Recto is correct to complain why the oil companies immediately raised their prices by P1.25 per liter when they have a 30 days inventory they bought at much lower prices. But look, who’s defending the oil companies, Dept. of Energy Usec Jay Layug!

Three Iloilio policemen are under investigation for posting nude pictures of themselves on facebook. Again, a shocking example of distorted police minds. PO2 Milbert Bicol who is assigned in Malacañang was charged with theft of a Ford Everest. The HPG found the stolen vehicle parked inside Malacañang.

Former Camiguin Governor Antonio Gallardo has been sworn in as Presidential Liason Officer to Senate, seven months after the Senate started its sessions. So slow talaga!