RIYADH, 20 April 2005 — Minister Counselor Mariano A. Dumia of the Philippine Embassy left yesterday after completing his extended tour of duty in the Kingdom, Consul and Second Secretary Germinia Aguilar Usudan said.
Usudan was designated charge d’affaires, or CDA, by Ambassador Bahnarim A. Guinomla — who is currently in the Philippines — after Dumia’s exit.
“Minister Dumia was, and is, a very good career diplomat and one of the most senior at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) where he has the rank of Chief of Mission 11. He was also a very effective head at the Assistance to Nationals Section (ANS) where he handled big and sensitive issues,” Usudan told Arab News yesterday.
Dumia was supposed to have left last November but his term was extended up to Feb. 28, then again to April 18 “to finish pending matters.”
“I was at the airport already when I received a call from Manila asking me to stay put,” Dumia had earlier told Arab News.
Usudan added that “even under pressure, Minister Dumia could remain calm,” which made him effective in handling big issues such as the case of Sarah Dematera, who was convicted of killing her employer.
“As far as this case is concerned, we are still negotiating that the victim’s relatives accept the diyah or blood money being offered in exchange for Dematera’s freedom,” said Usudan.
A few days before he was to leave in February, Dumia led the rescue of two Filipino workers in Dammam — seamstress Michaela delos Santos and beautician Iluminada Curioso.
After that, he also rescued Blondie Colot Jumawan who was reportedly giving money away at the King Fahd International Airport in the Eastern province instead of boarding her flight.
At the time he left, Dumia was helping Liberty G. Odulio recover her unpaid salaries and other benefits from her sponsor, totaling $46,000. Odulio is currently at the Bahay Kalinga, the shelter maintained by the embassy for distressed Filipino women workers.
Dumia’s recently completed tour of duty was his second in Saudi Arabia. He was in the Kingdom in the early 90s while still a first secretary. He had been posted previously in Oman, Sydney, and Iran.