Cimatu not covered by travel ban

Presidential special envoy Roy Cimatu has been exempted from the ban on government officials traveling abroad.

Despite a suspension of the evacuation of Filipinos from Iraq, President Arroyo has ordered the former Armed Forces chief to fly to that country and other parts of the Middle East where some 1.5 Filipinos live and work.

"For the time being, for the next few days, we’re reviewing the situation (in Iraq) but the scheduled going there of our crisis committee led by Mr. Roy Cimatu will push through," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said yesterday.

"And these two days would be to provide a sort of breathing space to have further assessment of the situation after we have received the good news that Iraq has decided to allow UN inspectors and because of such decision of Iraq, we are seeing an easing of the tension (in the Middle East)."

Cimatu will lead a delegation to check on the situation in the Middle East so they could draw up a contingency plan for the evacuation of Filipinos in case of war between the United States and Iraq.

But sources at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad has recommended that the government call off Cimatu’s trip.

"The idea of sending Cimatu would not look good," sources quoted the embassy as saying.

There was no more reason for Cimatu to come to Iraq because tension in the Middle East has already subsided, sources added.

Labor and Employment Undersecretary Manuel Imson said Cimatu’s delegation will visit Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The delegation will include three other officials from the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment, he added.

Under existing rules, government officials and employees granted travel authority from Malacañang automatically get a per diem of as much as $150 a day and a clothing allowance of about $100, depending on the rank of the official. –Marichu Villanueva, Mayen Jaymalin