GMA extends life of RP's MidEast Preparedness team

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has extended the life of the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Committee (PMEPC) to ensure the security and safety of Filipinos working in the Middle East in the wake of the reported smuggling of Filipino workers and violations of the deployment ban in Iraq, .

The decision to extend the operation of the PMEPC up to Dec. 31 this year, contained in Executive Order No. 640, was also triggered by the continued tension, political instability and armed conflicts in some Middle East countries, according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

The term of the PMEPC, headed by former Armed Forces Chief of Staff and now Ambassador Roy Cimatu, should have expired last June 30, pursuant to E.O. 597 dated Jan.12, 2007.

The EO cited the urgent need for the PMEPC to continue to assess and monitor development and update contingency measures to ensure the safety of Filipinos in the Middle East, Ermita said.

Ermita announced in a press briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday the President’s directive to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to send a probe team to the Middle East and verify reports that 51 overseas Filipino workers were duped to go to Iraq from Kuwait and forced to work in the construction of the United States embassy in Baghdad.

The President, according to Ermita, reminded Ambassador Cimatu to prepare and establish a specific contingency plan each for the potential crises in some countries, and strictly uphold the current ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq and Lebanon.

The President, who signed EO 640 last July 25, has approved the release of P5 million as additional fund allocation for the PMEPC’s administrative and operational expenses.

Under the new directive, all PMEPC members are retained and directed to continue to exercise their functions and responsibilities as provided for under EO 159 dated Dec. 23, 2002, in relation to EO 194 and EO 195, both dated April 14, 2003.

The President also tasked the PMEPC to provide continuing assistance to the DFA, as well as to other government agencies concerned with OFW safety, security, and protection, and in the formulation and implementation of policies, plans, and modes of coordination.