{"id":241565,"date":"2020-01-07T19:25:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T00:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=241565"},"modified":"2020-01-07T19:25:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T00:25:23","slug":"duterte-orders-cimatu-to-coordinate-with-mideast-govts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/01\/07\/duterte-orders-cimatu-to-coordinate-with-mideast-govts\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte orders Cimatu to coordinate with MidEast gov’ts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE: Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu sees the need for a law that would make manufacturers pay up for their share in polluting the environment. (Photo<\/a>: Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, a former special envoy to the Middle East, to meet with officials of the Gulf states and discuss the Philippines\u2019 plan to evacuate Filipino migrant workers there, Malaca\u00f1ang said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Chief Executive gave the directive during the 45th Cabinet meeting held at Malaca\u00f1an Palace on Monday night, said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in a statement.<\/p>\n

Duterte\u2019s order came as he feared for the imminent danger that Filipino migrant workers might face amid the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran, Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cForemost in the mind of the President is the safety of Filipinos in the Middle East and he assures the Filipino community and the nation that the Philippine Government is doing everything it can in making sure that our fellow citizens abroad are out of harm’s way,\u201d the Palace official said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Duterte likewise tasked Secretary Roy Cimatu, his Special Envoy to the Middle East prior to the latter’s appointment at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to fly to the Middle East immediately to establish coordination with the host countries and lay the groundwork for the evacuation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s latest move was made following the death of Qassem Soleimani, top Iranian military commander who was assassinated last week in a drone strike by the US in Baghdad, Iraq.<\/p>\n

The US action prompted the Iran government to announce revenge for Soleimani\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

However, Washington threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites, in the event that Iran attacks US citizens or assets.<\/p>\n

Panelo said Duterte has likewise instructed Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Abdullah Mamao to proceed to Iran and Iraq on Tuesday to deliver the President\u2019s special messages to the Iranian and Iraqi governments.<\/p>\n

The messages to Iran and Iraq contained the President\u2019s expression of concern over the safety of the Filipinos working in the two host countries, and conveyed his urgent desire that \u201cno Filipinos be harmed in the course of the ongoing conflicts,\u201d Panelo noted.<\/p>\n

Gov\u2019t agencies told to ensure OFWs\u2019 stability<\/strong><\/p>\n

Panelo said the President also directed all concerned state offices to look for ways to ensure the stability of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East once they are repatriated to the Philippines,<\/p>\n

\u201cPRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) likewise directed the appropriate government instrumentalities to prepare for contingencies that will absorb displaced workers to government projects so as to prevent the economic dislocation of their families upon their return,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Duterte asked Congress to prepare a \u201cstandby fund\u201d that could be utilized for the possible repatriation of Filipino workers in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Panelo said the President is \u201cgravely concerned\u201d with the condition and safety of OFWs in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, Iran and nearby Arab nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe (Duterte) stressed that it is the paramount duty of the government to give protection to the Filipinos whenever their lives are in peril and wherever they are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Special working panel formed<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a bid to protect OFWs in the Middle East from any harm, Duterte formed a six-man special working panel composed of his Cabinet members, Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Panelo said the committee consists of National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperson Jr. and Secretaries Teodoro Locsin Jr. (Foreign Affairs), Delfin Lorenzana (Defense), Silvestre Bello III (Labor), Eduardo A\u00f1o (Local Government), and Arthur Tugade (Transportation).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President created a special working committee composed of the Secretaries of National Defense and of the Interior and Local Government, the National Security Adviser, as well as the Secretaries of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Transportation, to draw up plans and measures for the evacuation of our countrymen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Panelo said the Armed Forces of the Philippines was also ordered to prepare its air and naval assets for the evacuation of OFWs, in case an armed or military warfare between the US and Iran takes place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2014 President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, a former special envoy to the Middle East, to meet …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":152709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241566,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241565\/revisions\/241566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}