RIYADH, 14 April 2004 — The Ping Lacson for President Movement (PPM) has mobilized its members in the Kingdom to push Senator Panfilo Lacson's bid for the presidency.
"Chapter members in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar will provide buses on Thursday and Friday to bring OFWs staying or working in remote areas of the Kingdom to the voting centers. Next week the service will be daily,"PPM spokesman Jun Nacion told Arab News yesterday.
The free transportation service will be arranged by PPM coordinators include engineer Rene L. Caseda in Riyadh, Jun Manesio in Jeddah and Antonio Uthoy Mercado in Alkhobar.
Nacion said that in the Saudi capital, 10 buses will bring OFWs to the Philippine Embassy , the designated voting center, from the Second Industrial Area as well as from Batha, where many OFWs live or stay.
Batha is the city center but there are no buses serving the public in going to the embassy inside the Diplomatic Quarter (DQ).
Nacion said that OFWs who avail themselves of the free transportation service will be given sample ballots with the names of Lacson, his lone senatorial candidate Carlos Padilla who is currently a congressman from Nueva Vizcaya, and the Saudi Arabia-based party-list Gabay OFW.
Nacion clarified that PPM is providing free transportation on its own initiative, and without any support or request from Lacson.
"We are doing it on our own. That means we received no money or any other form of assistance for our campaign. We wanted to give away T-shirts with Lacson's name but we have no budget for it. We're supporting Lacson because we believe in him and in his government platform," he said.
He added: "We equate the interest of the OFW with that of our national interest."
"If a migrant worker falls victim to wars and other atrocities; if he is unable to exercise his rights as an individual; if he is subjected to unjust working conditions; and if he falls prey to the fraudulent acts of nefarious individuals- his health, dignity and safety may be threatened and the national interest suffers. We want to safeguard these and PPM believes that the OFWs are close to Ping Lacson's heart," Nacion said.
