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Saturday, November 06, 2004
DFA 11 has no say on OFWs
By Aurea A. Gerundio
THE officer in charge (OIC) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) 11 office along Jacinto Street, Davao City Friday ignored the protest rally of the militants concerning the abduction of overseas Filipino worker Roberto "Bobby" Tarongoy in Iraq.
DFA 11 OIC Renato Villa said the regional consular office here only takes charge of the issuance of passport to qualified applicants.
"We refer all policy issues to the DFA office in Manila. Passporting office lang kami dito. For as long as the applicant submits the necessary requirements, we will issue a passport," Villa said, adding that their office receives at least 300 applications daily.
Villa said 60 percent of the applications are for contract labor while the 40 percent are for tourist, business, study and immigration.
Villa said the regional DFA office here is only strict with the evaluation of the personal data of an applicant.
In the application form for a passport, an applicant shall indicate the purpose for acquiring a passport and the place of destination.
"Basta lang hindi kasali sa ban 'yung lugar na pupuntahan nila, okay na. Ang sa amin naman kasi, sisiguraduhin lang talaga namin kung totoong Pilipino 'yung aplikante before we issue a passport," Villa said.
Villa refused to issue statements regarding the plight of Tarongoy. Instead, he advised the mediamen to inquire at the Public Information Services Unit (Pisu) of the DFA office in Manila.
Meanwhile, militants berated the Arroyo government for its continued neglect in ensuring the safety of Filipino workers abroad.
Jeppie Ramada, spokesperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said that Tarongoy and Angelito Nayan, another Filipino hostage in Afghanistan, were
"made sacrificial lambs to the altar of the war on terror."
"There's no one to blame but GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo). For as long as the Arroyo regime sticks to the US-led war on terror, OFW's in the Middle East remain to be targets of anti-US Iraqi guerillas," he said.
(November 6, 2004 issue)
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