RP to put up consular office in eastern Saudi

AL-KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia — The Philippine government, through Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., has promised to establish a consulate office in this eastern part of this desert kingdom, where some 200,000 Filipinos work.

Speaking before organized Filipino communities here, De Venecia — who led a delegation of mostly Muslim lawmakers and some businessmen — assured them that the House of Representatives will "introduce legislation to establish a consulate in this region."

"We will insert an item in the 2006 national budget to provide for the establishment of a consulate here," he told the crowd inside the International Philippine School here, which organized a short program for him.

De Venecia said he would discuss the matter with Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, since the creation of such office will need government funding.

Before the start of the program, which was arranged by labor attaché Delmer Cruz, emcee Bong Buella sounded off to the Speaker that they were "hoping for a consulate office in the eastern region," due to the huge concentration of Filipino migrant workers.

At present, the Philippine government has an embassy in Riyadh, headed by Ambassador Bahnarin Guinomla, and a consulate in Jeddah, where new Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdullazziz al-Saud resides.

De Venecia described his one-hour meeting with the King as "very successful," after the Saudi monarch expressed interest in his proposal to put up an oil refinery in Mindanao, which is to be financed by Saudi Aramco, which owns 40 percent of Petron.

De Venecia is requesting the Saudi government for a concessional loan for the establishment of a mass housing in Mindanao, and an 80-kilometer railway stretching from Iligan City to Cagayan de Oro City.

Earlier, De Venecia asked the Emir of Riyadh, Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, governor of this region, to grant clemency to Filipino workers languishing in jails for minor offenses.

De Venecia also sought repatriation for the jailed Filipinos during his four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia with a delegation of several Filipino-Muslim lawmakers and Filipino business leaders.

"Please allow me to convey on behalf of Her Excellency, President Arroyo, my appeal for your royal clemency for the release and repatriation of Filipino nationals who are presently detained in Riyadh while facing charges and serving sentences for light or minor offenses," he stated in his one-page letter.

De Venecia asked that they be "soon reunited with their loved ones back home" through Prince Salman’s "compassion and magnanimity."

The Philippine embassy does not know how many jailed Filipinos may benefit from De Venecia’s clemency appeal.

De Venecia said there are almost one million Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, most of them working as nurses, engineers, technicians, health care givers and service providers.

They are major sources of dollar remittances that will likely reach $10 billion or even higher this year, he said.

De Venecia expressed gratitude to the Prince for the Saudi government’s continued protection extended to the large Filipino community in Riyadh.

He and the Philippine delegation also called on the Emir of Riyadh. The House members in the delegation that left Manila on Friday included Reps. Hussin Amin, Abdullah Dimaporo, Lorna Silverio, Belma Cabilao and Munir Arbison.

"I am happy to note the excellent and long-standing friendly relations the Philippines has with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as the continuing support and protection extended by the Saudi government to the Filipino community in Riyadh, he said.

About eight million Filipinos work in dozens of countries around the world and on many of the world’s ships.