Cimatu checks on 1.2-M Pinoys in Middle East

Former Armed Forces chief Gen. Roy Cimatu will fly to the Middle East very soon to check on plans put in place by Philippine embassies to evacuate an estimated 1.2 million Filipino expatriates in the troubled region.

In her weekly radio message yesterday, President Arroyo announced that she had already instructed Cimatu to leave as soon as possible.

Cimatu was recently appointed by Mrs. Arroyo to lead a "crisis management committee" to oversee the welfare of Filipinos in the Middle East.

He will visit Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, many which host large numbers of Filipino alien workers.

The government is concerned about the safety of about 1.2 million Filipinos in the region because of the standoff between the United States and Iraq, which has been accused by Washington of building nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

"We want to make sure that our countrymen will be in good condition," Mrs. Arroyo said.

Last Tuesday, the President suspended the evacuation of 118 Filipinos from Iraq to Amman, the capital of neighboring Jordan, after Baghdad agreed to allow an international team of inspectors to search the country for weapons of mass destruction.

Although the evacuation was put off, the safety precautions remain in place, Malacañang said.

US President George W. Bush last week called on the UN Security Council to pressure Iraqi President Saddam Hussein into allowing UN weapons inspectors back into Iraq and dismantling any Iraqi chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, or the capacity to build them.

Bush made it clear, however, that Washington would feel free to take action on its own if the UN failed to act.

Mrs. Arroyo’s evacuation order was criticized by the Iraqi embassy in Manila, saying it gave the impression that war was imminent. In apparent bid to prevent further straining relations with Baghdad, Cimatu will skip a trip to Iraq during his swing.

Ties between Manila and Baghdad soured after Mrs. Arroyo supported Washington’s position on Iraq.

"We remain faithful to our commitments to the global campaign against terrorism. And we are one with the United Nations in solving this problem of Iraq," Mrs. Arroyo said in her radio message.

Malacañang, however, had earlier stressed that it favors a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Last Friday, Bush telephoned Mrs. Arroyo — a staunch supporter of the US-led global war on terrorism — to thank her "for her government’s strong support for the US approach on Iraq," a White House statement said.

The two leaders discussed "counter-terrorism efforts around the world, including in Southeast Asia," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Starting tomorrow, Cimatu’s committee will meet with ambassadors from Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to discuss the crisis.

Cimatu said the five countries are considered critical areas because their close ties with Washington may make them targets should war break out between the US and Iraq. — Marichu Villanueva