The Presidential Middle East Preparedness Team (PMEPT), headed by Special Presidential Envoy Roy A. Cimatu, has just concluded its two-day visit to the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by attending a three-hour civil defense forum organized by the Philippine Embassy and labor officials and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the region.

In a report, Cimatu said the forum was held at the physical education covered court of the International Philippine School (IPSA) in Al Khobar, the biggest Philippine school in the Eastern Province, and one of the identified relocation sites for OFWs under the country's preparedness plan for the looming US war on Iraq.

Cimatu said the forum focused on the Philippine government's preparations for the estimated 950,000 OFWs in the vast Saudi kingdom, 200,000 of whom are concentrated in the Eastern Province's industrial districts of Dhahran, Dammam, Al Khobar, Jubail and Hufuf.

About 200 Filipino community leaders attended the event. Guests included Mubbarak Bubshait from the Saudi Ministry of Education and Col. Awad Al-Qhatani, deputy chief of the Saudi Office of Civil Defense in the Eastern Province, who gave a preview to the Filipinos of the Saudi government's preparedness plans.

The team also met with Philippine Embassy and labor officials headed by Riyadh Chief of Mission Bahnarim Guinomla, Consul General Marianito Dumia, Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre, and Welfare Officers Angel Borja and Boy Tornea to fine-tune the contingency plan of the Philippines in Saudi Arabia in the event of a war.

The team briefed the officials on the general concept of the plan as approved by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, with Ambassador Cimatu laying emphasis on the priority to ensure the safety and welfare of the OFWs in the Kingdom. He stressed that aside from the war, every OFW must also remain vigilant and prepared for possible terrorist attacks.

On his part, Ambassador Guinomla assured the PMEPT of the embassy's readiness and full cooperation in implementing the preparedness plan. He disclosed that in a number of meetings he had with high Saudi officials, he has been assured that the Saudi government will extend utmost assistance to all nationals in the country, including Filipinos, should a war breaks out between the United States and Iraq.

Meanwhile, Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas expressed confidence that the safety of OFWs in the Middle East has been bolstered with the thorough preparations the Philippines has made in coordination with host nations.

Sto. Tomas said that following the on-site mission made by no less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to Kuwait, she was confident that the government "is ready for any eventuality as we have made the necessary coordination with other government agencies, to ensure that our nationals are sufficiently protected."

Sto. Tomas said that the OFWs in the Middle East thanked the President for her concern, saying her on-site visit boosted their morale.

She stressed that the OFWs themselves, specially in Kuwait which is closest to the Iraqi border, recognized that the situation there now is essentially different from the first Gulf War in the 1990s which forced the evacuation of OFWs. In 1990, it was Iraq that invaded Kuwait. Now, the movement will likely be in the opposite direction.

Nevertheless, Sto. Tomas emphasized that the Philippines has made the necessary preparations to ensure the safety of the 1.4 million OFWs, including the holding of a command conference of Filipino labor attaches and the various RP ambassadors in the area to fine tune the Philippines' contingency plans in individual countries hosting OFWs.

Sto. Tomas added that as an "insurance," she and the PMEPT members visited a possible relocation site for OFWs in Kuwait and distributed handbooks about possible chemical warfare and what to do in such a situation.

Saying the proper preparations and coordination have been made in the event of a possible US military action, she said that "in fact (the OFWs) will get the same treatment as wealthy nationals in Kuwait - they would have ration coupons, gas masks, and medical officers as well as ambulances will be available."

We support the action taken by Secretary Ople in protecting the public interest.

This is based on his evaluation of intelligence reports made available to his department.

Sec. Ople’s action is not directed against the Iraq Embassy as a whole but only against one of its functionaries.

Allegations of diplomatic involvement in terrorism constitute a grave matter anywhere in the world and should be dealt with vigilance and immediacy.

The investigation should leave no stone unturned and the results thereof must be made known to the Filipino people and the international community.

The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose to $16.416 billion as of end-January 2003, higher by 1.5 percent compared to the GIR as of the end of December 2002, which was $16.180 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

In a report, the BSP said that the level of the GIR as of the end of January is equivalent to 4.8 months of imports of goods and payment of services and income.

The GIR is considered the "war chest" of the BSP against foreign exchange speculators.

Alternatively, the end-January GIR is equivalent to 2.8 times of short-term debt based on original maturity or 1.4 times based on residual maturity, the BSP said.

According to the BSP, the increase in reserves during the period primarily came from deposits by the national government of the proceeds of its ten-year global bond flotation and the proceeds from term loan facility of the state-owned National Power Corporation (NPC).

These inflows were partly offset, however, by the debt service requirements of the national government and the BSP.

Malacanang today said that nothing can make President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo change her decision not to run in the 2004 elections as she had announced last December 30, 2002 in Baguio City.

"The President has said time and again that she has made the announcement, and nothing will convince her to change her decision," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said today in his regular press briefing.

Bunye was reacting to the results of a recent survey by the Ibon Foundation, Inc., which reportedly showed that almost half of the voters in Metro Manila do not believe in the President’s announcement that she would not seek the presidency in next year’s elections.

"If you are an unbeliever, no amount of explanation can convince an unbeliever," Bunye said when pressed to comment on the Ibon survey.

Bunye said that the President right now is concentrating on the task of pursuing political, economic and electoral reforms, and in the task of healing the nation. "And we will leave it at that," he added.