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Tuesday, April 15, 2003
RP to send contingent to Iraq next week: GMA
By She Caguimbal-Torres
PRESIDENT Arroyo said Monday that the Philippines will send to Iraq next week a humanitarian and peacekeeping contingent, whose members would mostly come from the PNP and Mindanao.
Arroyo, during the graduation of the Sambigkis Class 2003 of the PNP Academy, said with the end of the Iraq war, those who supported the US-led coalition “have an even greater stake in ensuring that the losses and sacrifices were not in vain.”
She said the Philippines has contributed to the UN initiatives in Iraq as evinced by the deployment of Armed Forces personnel to Iraq for the humanitarian assistance protection force and in the oil-for-food program.
“The Philippines is ready to send workers to help, in line with the objective of the United Nations. It will be more significant to send workers from Mindanao. The compassion of our Muslim brothers will greatly help in understanding the sad plight of the Iraqis, while the rehabilitation of some parts of Mindanao that are also experiencing violence continues. This way, we deal with our own problem while we help others,” she added.
Arroyo created the inter-agency task force for the coordination of the Philippine humanitarian assistance to Iraq and the public-private sector task force that will coordinate and support Philippine participation in reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
She appointed Jose Ibazeta as Philippine ambassador to Iraq to provide the ground support for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction efforts.
Jose Ibazeta, 60, said in a telephone interview late Monday afternoon that he was informed by Malacañang late last week that he was in the short-list of candidates for ambassador to Iraq. Ibazeta’s late father Juan, was a papal knight.
He said he is not a close friend of First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo even if he was a graduate of the Ateneo. “I know Mike Arroyo only as a professional… The only relationship that we have is that we are both mestizos,” he added.
He said his priority as ambassador to Iraq is to “obtain projects that would bring in jobs for Filipinos and showcase the Filipinos’ expertise.”
He said if he is allowed to go to Iraq, even if he is not yet confirmed by the Commission on Appointments, he would go there in early May, passing through Kuwait to talk to the major players in the reconstruction.
Jose Chacarrategui Ibazeta, also called “Nono” by his business associates, is currently chairman of the Atlas Mining and Development Corp., and is a consultant of A. Soriano Corp. (Anscor).
He is a member of the board of directors of AB Capital and Investment Corp., PET Plans, and the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI).
He was president and chief operating officer of Anscor from 1990 to 1998. From 1975-1976, he was managing director of Davis Palmer & Biggs in New York. From 1971-1975, he also worked as investment manager for Peat Marwicj & Mitchell in New York.
Ibazeta holds a masters degree in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco in California and another masters degree in Banking and Finance from the New York University. He holds an economics degree from the Ateneo de Manila University.
He was born on July 29, 1942 and is married to Sylvia Almario Ibazeta, with whom he has three children: Maria Victoria, Andrea and Juan.
He will replace Ernesto Castro, who died in a freak accident while en route to Iraq. So far the Philippine embassy in Baghdad is under charges d’ affaires Grace Escalante.
Arroyo said the humanitarian task force shall be led by Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople and Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes as co-chairmen and special envoy Roy Cimatu of the Middle East Preparedness Team as executive director.
Its members are Interior Secretary Jose Lina, Jr., Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, Armed Forces chief Gen. Narciso Abaya, PNP chief Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr., Office of Muslim Affairs executive director Zamzamin Ampatuan, Philippine ambassador to Iraq Jose Ibazeta, Philippine ambassador to Kuwait Bayani Mangibin, and other officials the President has yet to designate.
Arroyo said the Task Force will formulate a consolidated assistance plan for Iraq which will include Philippine participation in the activities of the UN, the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, and other humanitarian, medical and related assistance for Iraq.
She said the Task Force shall conclude arrangements with receiving and host governments so that the Philippine contingent in Iraq are not put at personal risk once deployed in the said country.
In a statement later in the day, Arroyo said the Philippines did not support the coalition of the willing in anticipation of the 100,000 jobs that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will get during the reconstruction phase in Iraq.
“The idea that the 100,000 jobs for OFWs is a sort of reward for our support of the Iraq war is unfair to us, the Iraqi people and the coalition of the willing. Our support for democracy is based on principle, it is not based on anticipation of any material reward,” she said.
“The Iraq people are in dire need of help for the rehabilitation of their war-torn country and this is the main reason why they are opening their gates for skilled workers of the world, including our OFWs. They are our hosts and we will help them if they want us to,” she said.
“This is not a matter of quid pro quo. This is a matter of extending help to a country that needs our help, and that is why we will be sending our military and humanitarian teams to take part in the overall responsibility of the international community to lift up the Iraqi people,” she added.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said government’s role would be peacekeeping and humanitarian, and job placements should be handled by the private sector. Sunnex Luzon
(April 15, 2003 issue)
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