Monday, July 19, 2004 Remaining Pinoy troops out of Iraq Monday
MANILA -- The remaining members of the tiny police and military contingent in Iraq are to withdraw on Monday, Foreign Secretary Delia Albert said Sunday.
The pullout was moved up from August 20 last week to save the life of truck driver Angelo dela Cruz, held hostage by Iraqi militants who threatened to behead him unless Arroyo recalled the contingent a month ahead of schedule.
The first of the 51-member contingent left on Friday, and those remaining in Iraq are "finalizing the turnover of their responsibilities", Albert said.
President Arroyo's special envoy to the Middle East, Roy Cimatu, is to accompany them for an "exit call" to the new commander at Camp Charlie, in Iraq's Babil province, on Monday.
"After the call, the remaining contingent will then proceed to Kuwait and from there return to Manila by commercial flight," she said.
The decision has angered key anti-terror allies the United States and Australia, both of which warned that it would be sending the wrong signal that terrorist tactics were working.
"Arrangements for their return flight are being made by the Philippine Embassy officials in Kuwait. Their exact date and time of arrival in the Philippines will be announced as soon as the details are available," Albert added.
First to withdraw from Iraq on July 14 were 8 members of the contingent followed on July 16 by its chief, Brig. Gen. Jovito Palparan, and 10 other officers of the Philippine Air Force, Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Marine.
Palparan and the 10 officers are expected to arrive in Manila from Kuwait Monday. It is not clear when the first batch left and arrived in Manila.
A well-placed government source on Saturday said intermediaries in Iraq told them the militants had said they would likely free dela Cruz by the end of the month if the contingent was withdrawn as soon as possible.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said Saturday that dela Cruz had become a symbol for the estimated seven million Filipinos working abroad whose dollar remittances keep the economy afloat.
Bunye's deputy, Ricardo Saludo, added that the Philippine government remains committed to ensuring the safety of Filipinos in Iraq.
The assurance came after overseas Filipinos working in Iraq and Iraqi nationals based in the Philippines aired concerns that Filipinos everywhere would now be more vulnerable to terrorists following Manila's decision withdraw its troops.
"I think the people on the ground like Ambassador Cimatu and the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) would have a better grasp on how different events including the pullout would affect the security of our nationals, but the security of our nationals remains the government's paramount concern in every decision that we make and everything that we do," said Saludo.
Ronaldo Parungao, former ambassador to Iraq, said while "President Arroyo made the right decision at the right time, this would have consequences, especially as far as the international community is concerned."
In dela Cruz's hometown north of Manila, relatives and friends await his fate with nearly daily prayer vigils while activists stage protests.
The hostage's wife Arsenia and brother Jesus have also been flown to the Jordanian capital of Amman to meet him there once freed.
On Thursday, dela Cruz was shown on Al-Jazeera television dressed in a black shirt rather than the infamous orange prison overalls seen on former captives before their execution.
"Wait for me, I'm coming back to you," Al-Jazeera quoted him as saying in a message to his family, in an Arabic translation of his words.
Dela Cruz also thanked Arroyo for her government's decision to "withdraw the Philippine forces from Iraq" and pleaded with here to stand by "this decision and apply it," the report added.
The hostage drama has proved to be a crucial test to Arroyo, who has just won a fresh six-year term on a campaign that banked on her tough anti-terror image and close alliance with Washington.
Arroyo had initially sent out mixed signals on the troop withdrawal, but Bunye on Saturday said "she has delivered the optimum response to this issue both to the Filipino people and the world." (AFP/Sunnex Luzon)
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