JEDDAH, 4 September 2005 — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will not be pushing through with her trip to the Kingdom this month, the Philippine Embassy said yesterday.

Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla said the visit had to be moved to a future date because the schedules of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and President Arroyo were “not mutually convenient.”

The presidential palace in Manila earlier said Arroyo was to visit to the Kingdom on Sept. 11-10 to plead for a steady oil supply at affordable prices. From the Kingdom, she planned to proceed to New York to attend the United Nations summit.

Ambassador Guinomla said a new schedule would have to be worked out. He said that on Sept. 27 a delegation from the Philippine, to be led by an undersecretary of foreign affairs, will visit Riyadh to draft agreements with its counterpart in the Saudi-Filipino Joint Commission on a variety of issues.

Up for discussion, he said, were higher education, professional and technical training, tourism and security.

The discussions by the commission are meant to deepen the Philippines’ ties with Saudi Arabia, he said.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest supplier of oil to the Philippines and employer of overseas contract workers, estimated by the host government at 365,000.

Arroyo’s chief aide, presidential Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, earlier said the president also hopes to inquire about the welfare of Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia as well as the Philippines’ status with the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The Philippines has been seeking observer status in the OIC as part of its efforts to negotiate peace with local separatists.

Disappointed

News of the postponement of Arroyo’s trip to the Kingdom has disappointed not a few Filipinos in the Kingdom, including those who are for or against her continued stay in office.

Nazruddin Dianalan, chair of the Jeddah-based Kasapi Congress, said they were hoping to meet with the president to ask her help on the perennial problem of where to hold community activities, including national celebrations.

Filipino organizations in Jeddah have been unable to stage activities involving big numbers of people at the Philippine Consulate reportedly because of restrictions by the host government as part of security measures.

Arab News sources say that in addition to security concerns, residents close to the consulate have been complaining of too much noise when programs are held until late in the night.

Guzz Pacamara, president of the group Kapit-Bisig, said they also want to have a dialogue with President Arroyo so that she will hear straight from Overseas Filipino Workers what their concerns are.

“Hindi n’ya dapat iasa ang lahat sa kanyang mga tauhan dahil baka hindi naman nakakarating sa kdanya ang totoong mga nangyayari (She should not rely solely on what her subordinates report to her because they might not tell her what’s really happening,)” he said.

Adela delos Santos, an OFW dependent, said she hopes to personally meet with the president and give her flowers to show her admiration for her beauty (kagandahan) and courage (katapangan) as a woman leader. “Hanga ako kay Gloria Arroyo. Mahusay, matalino at napakagaling na presidente. (I admire Gloria Arroyo. She is an excellent, intelligent and effective president),”

Contrary Views

Emma Dammang, a sewer, is one of those who wants to meet with the president to tell her it’s time to step down.

“Wala naman siyang nagagawang mabuti sa mga problemang dumarating sa ating bansa. Dapat ay bumaba na lamang siya. Kung kailangan kong pakiusapan siya ng personal para bumaba siya ay gagawin ko (Since she hasn’t been able to solve our country’s problem, she should step down. If I have to talk with her in person to ask her to resign, I will do that,” Dammang said.

A number of professionals earlier told Arab News they were looking forward to having a dialogue with the president so that they could tell her directly why it took her a long time to admit allegations that she had repeatedly called an election official when the canvassing of votes in last year’s presidential election were going on.

Wiretapped phone conversations of the president showed her allegedly discussing with the official how to ensure a one-million vote lead over her strongest challenger, actor Fernando Poe Jr. Poe died late last year, presumably an effect of his defeat.

Arroyo had apologized for her ‘lapse in judgment” for calling the official (Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, now in hiding) but denied cheating. She has refused to step down, defying advice from many of her supporters or allies, including former President Corazon Aquino, who said she has lost her credibility to lead.

A leader of the Organization of the Knights of Rizal (OKOR), a growing movement in the Kingdom, confided to Arab News that while he and many of his friends supported Arroyo during last year's election, they were alarmed by allegations of cheating and dishonesty against her.

"I have been citing President Arroyo as a model for my young daughters and here she is being pictured as a cheat. My daughters have watched everything on TFC (The Filipino Channel of ABS-CBN) and they have heard all the accusations against the president, including her alleged lying," the OKOR leader said.

Arroyo seems to have survived attempts in the House of Representatives to impeach her in connection with the election fraud and graft. Political analysts say, however, that she is not yet out of the woods.