Noy urged to fire immigration executive

MANILA, Philippines - Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay urged President Aquino yesterday to fire immigration officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma for being primarily responsible for a diplomatic fiasco spawned by the deportation of 14 Taiwanese nationals to China. The development has enraged Taiwan.

“For the sake of our 80,000 to 90,000 Filipinos in Taiwan, and for the sake of those set to leave for the country but could not enter, I strongly urge the President to remove Ledesma, who is responsible for this Taiwan fiasco,” Magsaysay said in a statement.

Despite representations from the Philippine government, Taipei continues to demand an apology for the move of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to send the Taiwanese to China. The 14 have been accused of duping Chinese citizens in an online scam.

President Aquino earlier sent former senator Manuel Roxas II to Taiwan to express his administration’s “deep regret” for the faux pas. Taipei received Roxas but told him only a public apology would be acceptable.

More restrictions

The deportation has prompted the Taiwanese government to impose more restrictions on Filipinos seeking jobs or are already in the territory.

Last week, opposition lawmakers sought an explanation as to why Ledesma ignored a Court of Appeals writ of habeas corpus for Taiwanese and proceeded with deporting them to China.

“This is no time for foolish pride and petty legalities when the livelihoods of countless families are unsettled by yet another foreign affairs matter mishandled by this administration,” the House opposition said in a staement. “For starters, officials unschooled in diplomacy, especially those in the Palace, should defer to seasoned Department of Foreign Affairs experts in speaking on this issue. And the BI’s apparent act of contempt toward a Court of Appeals writ must also be accounted for,” the statement read.

Create jobs

Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna, meanwhile, renewed calls for Malacañang to find ways to give jobs to overseas Filipino workers returning from Taiwan and other countries experiencing political unrest.

“We have 30,000 fresh job seekers and 30,000 more who may have lost their jobs and will look for new employment here at home, what to do with them,” Tugna said, referring to new nursing graduates in the country.

He cited Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz’s admission that some 1.186 million, or 42.2 percent, of the 2.8 million unemployed workers in the country were college graduates and undergraduates, and therefore educated.

“Our economic managers must refocus attention to the alarming issue of job creation. It is no longer enough that we sound optimistic that the economy is supposed to be better and the outlook is good, we have 30,000 nursing graduates plus 30,000 more returning from overseas looking for jobs and we cannot fail them,” he said.