ALKHOBAR, 2 July 2003 — The hottest presidential aspirant in next year’s Philippine national elections is expected in Riyadh today in the first leg of a visit that would bring him face-to-face with the second biggest voting population of overseas Filipinos.
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson was invited by the Kilos Pasabay, short for Kilos Para sa Bayan, a community group based in Riyadh, to discuss numerous issues, including the Overseas Absentee Voting law, which was signed this year by President Gloria Arroyo.
Renato Caseda, chairman of Kilos Pasabay, told Arab News they had already received confirmation from the Senate in Manila of the arrival of Lacson and his entourage.
Caseda said that the community meeting with Lacson will be at 9 p.m. tonight at the embassy right after the senator’s courtesy call with Ambassador Bahrnarim Guinomla.
Tomorrow afternoon, he will meet the Barya Mo, Buhay Ko group, to which Lacson donated 2 million pesos to finance its projects for the distressed and stranded OFWs in the Kingdom.
In the evening, also at the embassy, he will be the guest of honor of the 3rd Kingdomwide Tinig OFW Singing Contest, a project of the Calabarzon community in Riyadh.“We are very lucky that Senator Lacson could make it this time for we have invited him since the first contest was launched,” Benny Quiambao, president of Calabarzon said.
Calabarzon is composed of Filipinos coming from the Southern Tagalog provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. Lacson himself hails from Cavite.
“We want to express our support to Senator Lacson since he is our kababayan. At the same time, we want from him some answers on the hanging issues on the Absentee Voting law, such as allowing Filipinos in the Eastern Region to at least have their own registration and voting centers in Alkhobar,” Quiambao said.
Lacson is also expected to visit Alkhobar on Friday to meet with members of the community in the Eastern Region.
Andy Reyes, overall chairman of the All Filipino Community and Sports Commission (Afcscom), which is composed of 58 different organizations, said that they will again submit to Lacson the same position paper they have given to Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senator Robert Jaworski, Secretary Heherson Alvarez, Ambassador Guinomla, and to the Comelec officials who visited the Kingdom recently.
Afcscom still hopes that a registration and voting center may be set up in Alkhobar for the benefit of some 260,000 Filipinos in this area. “It is our obligation as community leaders to deliver the complaints and demands of our constituents to the visiting dignitaries from Manila with the hope that they will take immediate action on our request,” Reyes said.
Lacson is to fly to Jeddah on Saturday before returning to Manila.
Lacson is being supported by by anti-crime advocates and the citizenry tired of criminality. On the other hand, his critics have accused him of engaging in drug trafficking.