RIYADH, 4 July 2005 — Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo yesterday personally received a manifesto and letters expressing support for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is under fire in the Philippines for interfering in last year’s election and for the alleged involvement of members of her family in illegal gambling activities.

In a press statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs noted that the joint manifesto from Filipino community organizations in Riyadh welcomed Arroyo’s admission that she talked with a Commission on Election official when the votes were being counted and that her apology should put the matter to rest.

“Now that the president has admitted that the voice (in the wiretapped tapes) is hers, let us close this chapter and join hands in pursuing a constructive program for our country. It is time for us to close ranks and cooperate with the leaders of our government to hasten our development and progress. We must unite for the common good and help upgrade our living conditions,” said the joint manifesto which was handed to Romulo by Alex Veloso Bello, president of the OFW Congress.

The manifesto hailed “the unprecedented act of public contrition when the president asked for forgiveness.”

“... such gesture of statesmanship should put the wiretapping issue to rest, the lapse of judgment on the part of the president is readily forgivable,” it added.

It said community leaders in Riyadh “strongly denounce and condemn any attempts by any groups or individuals to resolve the impasse through unconstitutional and undemocratic means since this will only destabilize our fragile economy and bring more hardships to the Filipino people.”

The same statement said Romulo also received two other letters of support, one from another large coalition of Filipino workers and the other from a group of Muslim community leaders.

One letter came from United OFW National Chairman Frank G. Naval, who said that the organization supported the mandate of President Arroyo.

Naval emphasized that while the United OFW is non-partisan, being “neither on the side of the administration nor opposition,” it wants the “law (to) prevail for the sake of peace and unity.”

The other letter came from Saidali M. Malic, chairman of the Council of Unified Muslim Community Leaders in Riyadh.

He wrote: “While we have been doing our great share as OFWS, we would like to express our stand that our trust and confidence is still with the government of her excellency, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and rested upon the strong bondage and indubitable force of the different hierarchies and branches of our government especially our Cabinet members.”

Romulo, along with Foreign Undersecretaries Jose Brillantes and Rafael Seguis, met with Filipino community leaders Saturday night at the Philippine Chancery in a dinner hosted by Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla.

They flew to Saudi Arabia on Saturday from Yemen, where they attended the 32nd Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

Romulo explained that their trip was to make sure that the welfare and interest of Filipinos in the Kingdom were protected and attended to.

Saudi Arabia is home to the second the largest overseas Filipino migrant community, placed by the Philippine government at 900,000 Filipinos and by the SPA at 365,000.

Meetings With Saudi Officials

Yesterday was a busy day for Romulo. First, he paid a courtesy call to Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, to deliver a letter of felicitation and introduction from President Arroyo.

He also met with Interior Minister Prince Naif and with Justice Minister Abdullah Al-Sheikh.

A news release from the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the officials “discussed matters of mutual interest” to both Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.

On Saturday, Romulo discussed “issues of mutual interest” with Riyadh’s deputy governor, Prince Sattam ibn Abdul Aziz. He also discussed “the prospects of cooperation in labor matters” between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia with Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, according to the SPA.

Romulo and his staff refused to talk publicly about what they discussed with the Saudi officials, but community sources said it had something to do with the case of Filipinos in jail for various offenses, particularly those on death row.

Last month, Malaca?ang Palace in Manila said the Philippines was asking Saudi Arabia for leniency in the case of Rey Cortez, a welder in a car repair shop who was sentenced to death in May 2002 for killing a Pakistani taxi driver.

Cortez’s life could be spared if the victim’s family accepts payment of compensation known as diya or “blood money.”

Four Filipinos convicted of murdering a compatriot were beheaded by the sword in the western city of Taif in March when the victim’s family rejected the blood money offer.

Manila said at the time it regretted the beheadings of the hospital workers but had no complaints about the conduct of the trial.

Good Performance

During the dinner meeting with community leaders, Romulo said he was impressed about what the embassy has been doing to help OFWs, specially those in jails for various reasons and are in need of help.

“We have been going over the cases one by one and I pay tribute to Ambassador Bahnarim A. Guinomla for what the embassy has been doing,” he said.

Aside from paying tribute to Brillantes, who will be the country’s next ambassador to Canada, and Seguis “who stayed in Iraq for eight months until he could bring home Robert Tarongoy to his wife Ivy,” Romulo also commended Guinomla as “a pride of the foreign service not only because he’s a Muslim but also because he’s a Filipino.”

The officials also asked Filipinos in the Kingdom to always abide by the host government’s laws and to respect local customs to avoid getting into trouble. (With report from Rodolfo Estimo Jr. & SPA)