RIYADH, 26 Sept. – Now that former President Fidel V. Ramos is in the national capital, community leaders will have another chance to voice out their concerns that are being ignored in Manila.

Ramos arrived at about 7:50 last night on board a Saudi Airlines flight from Manila. He was met at the airport by Saudi officials led by Assistant Foreign Minister Nizar Madani, as well as by Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla and other embassy officials and staff.

According to the embassy, Ramos was invited to visit the Kingdom by the host government. He is to visit key institutions, including the King Abdullah City of Science and Technology (KACST), the King Saudi University, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, among others.

On Saturday, he is to meet with officials and members of the local chamber of commerce and industries.

Before leaving for Bahrain on Monday, he is to give a lecture at the Institute of Diplomatic Studies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In Bahrain, he will also be on a lecture tour, the details of which were not immediately available.

Today, Ramos will meet with some members of media. Tomorrow, he will have a dialogue with representatives of community organizations at the Philippine Embassy at 7 p.m.

His visit is considered to be timely as community groups desperate for the passage of the proposed absentee voting law are hoping to get someone to "blow a trumpet" in the ears of concerned officials in Manila.

"We are hoping to find someone who can tell President Arroyo that she cannot just watch as her allies in Congres strangle and mangle the Absentee Voting Bill," one advocate in Riyadh told Arab News.

Community leaders in Jeddah, including the leaders of the Pangasinan Saudi Workers Association, said they believe President Gloria M. Arroyo would listen to Ramos as he is not just a senior adviser and one of her special envoys but also the paramount leader of the ruling Lakas party.

Ramos, a retired general whose administration from 1992 to 1998 saw the best years of the Philippine economy, is a known supporter of Overseas Filipino Workers’ concerns.

It was during his time that the Magna Carta of Overseas Filipino Workers, a law on the protection and welfare for OFWs, was enacted.

It was also during his time that the law exempting OFWs from paying taxes on income earned abroad was enacted.

Also tomorrow, the Riyadh community may also have the chance to talk with President Arroyo’s "fair-haired boy," reitred Gen. Roy Cimatu, who is now in charge of the government team tasked to oversea the evacuation of Filipinos from Mideastern countries in case of US invasion of Iraq.

Reports from Manila had said Cimatu is expected to arrived in Riyadh tomorrow, along with Ambassador Reynaldo Parungao, Director Ramon Tionloc of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and another official. Cimatu and company will tour the Kingdom, including the Eastern Region, until Sept. 30. They will then proceed to Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates in a "whirldwind" tour lasting up to Oct. 10.