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Monday, March 23, 2003
US-Iraq war 'good' for RP: GMA
THE U.S.-led offensive against Iraq will help safeguard the Philippines from domestic terror groups who may be getting support from abroad, President Arroyo said Saturday.
The President also explained that her government's all-out support for the United States-led war against Iraq is nothing personal and actually has not placed the overseas Filipino workers' welfare at risk at all.
In a speech to the Philippine Army, Arroyo reiterated her support for the U.S.-led assault on Iraq, linking it to the Philippines' fight against local extremists like the Abu Sayyaf Muslim kidnapping group.
She warned that foreign terrorists supported such groups and the Philippines must support efforts to make sure they do not get their hands on weapons of mass destruction, or WMDs.
Other advantages identified as result of the US-Iraq war are the expected rollback on diesel oil and a boom on post war jobs.
Battle
"As the battle for Baghdad begins, the relative safety of our nationals from WMDs is more or less assured," Arroyo said.
"One country alone cannot eliminate terrorists like the Abu Sayyaf group as their links to other terrorist organizations give them financial support, arms and materials," she said.
Arroyo did not directly link Baghdad to the Abu Sayyaf which has been kidnapping Christians and foreigners for ransom in the Southern for about a decade.
However, last month Iraqi diplomat Husham Hussain was expelled from this country after Manila accused him of having alleged contacts with the Abu Sayyaf group.
Since the start of the US led war, several Iraqi nationals have been deported to Iraq.
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye had to downplay the recent actions of the Bureau of Deportation (BID) against Iraqi nationals as "routine check" and not meant to single them out.
"The BID has to look regularly at papers of foreign nationals in the country. Only if their papers are not in order would they be deported because that's a violation of our laws," he said.
The United States made a call on the Philippines to deport Iraqi nationals still in the country, apparently as a part of the support it requires from its allies.
Bunye said this request must be taken seriously and carefully.
"This has to be approached carefully and (with) caution. We need to consider the sensibilities of our neighbors (NAM - Non-aligned Movement members), most especially those belonging to the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC)," Bunye said.
He said any unlawful deportation could have a backlash on the country's representation before these generally Muslim organizations, now that the Philippines is trying to win a cause in relation to the government's problem with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
In fairness to the Americans, Bunye said, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has not formally communicated petitions to have these Iraqi nationals deported due to the war.
Oil price down
Reportedly as a result to the United States' decision to attack Iraq, Malacanang assured the public Saturday that prices of diesel fuel will go down in the next few days.
Bunye described the rollback as "hugely significant."
He said the Department of Energy (DOE) has been tasked to closely monitor the looming oil price rollback by the major oil players that would hopefully be implemented immediately.
"If the rollback is not yet implemented by one of the major players, I believe that in the next few days, they will announce a hugely significant rollback on diesel prices," Bunye said.
War jitters have given rise to local oil prices by as much as P1 per liter in the past month.
The President reassured the public that the country has enough oil supply for two months.
Bunye was so confident of the positive effects of the war in Iraq, he even boasted of the peso becoming stronger against the greenback.
He said at least two of three factors that weakened the peso have been resolved, namely war jitters and speculations. The other factor, he said, was the apprehension over the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).
"It appears that speculators and speculations have been reduced drastically because of the tight measures being applied on those who are buying the dollars without the need to do so," he said.
He said at least one company, which "bought" dollars for one year at P55, has apparently lost in the speculation game because the peso value strengthened before the weekend to about P54.20.
"Losing out by 50 centavos would really hurt you if you bought millions worth of dollars at a higher rate. I think that's a lesson they learned the hard way because they tried to cheat the system," Bunye said.
Nevertheless, he said the President is not taking matters lightly yet and has ordered to maintain tight monitoring of prices of basic commodities in the local market, with strong warnings that opportunistic businessmen taking advantage of the situation would be severely penalized.
"We will protect our consumers from unscrupulous traders who engage in hoarding, profiteering and opportunist speculations," the President said.
The President said the country would have enough supply of basic commodities like cooking oil, rice, sugar, and other food items to last four months.
Post-war jobs boom
Apart from the redeployment of overseas workers to the Middle East when the war is over, labor authorities also need to prepare for sending additional workers for the rehabilitation of areas damaged by the conflict.
Fidel Magno, of the Department of Manpower Development and Placement (DMDP), said that in the 1991 Gulf War, the Cebu City Government anticipated a great demand for workers to repair war-torn Arab communities.
Mayor Tomas Osmeņa created the Employment Opportunities Office (EOO) then and appointed Magno, a known personality from the labor movement, to head it.
Magno said 32,000 engineers and skilled workers, including those who lost their jobs when Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. closed, applied for work.
In coordination with the Philippine Overseas Workers Administration (POEA), about 5,000 engineers, welders, carpenters, masons, electricians, mechanics and plumbers were deployed and were promised salaries of $200 to $1,000 a month. The exchange rate then was about P20 to a dollar.
The overseas job fair will be in May yet.
Magno said about 48 local employers are offering 1,500 job opportunities amid uncertain economic conditions.
He admitted, though, that most of the companies are offering work contracts lasting for five months only.
The jobs available are for sales clerks for department stores and workers for manufacturing, garment and construction firms. (Joshua Dancel/Charmaine Y. Rodriguez/Sun.Star Cebu/AFP)
(March 23, 2003 issue)
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