MANILA, 9 January 2007 — The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that controversial ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bichara has resigned.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos first broke the news and this was affirmed by DFA spokesman Ed Malaya who said the president has accepted the resignation of Bichara.
“Bichara’s submitted his resignation letter and the president accepted it and she thanked him for his service to the nation,” Malaya said in a telephone interview, adding that Bichara did not cite a particular reason other than that he wanted to go home.
Bichara belongs to a prominent political family in Bicol with numerous projects destroyed by the typhoons Milenya and Reming which hit the region during the 4th quarter of 2006.
Malaya also said the Philippine embassy’s efforts to assist overseas Filipino workers in the area wishing to be repatriated will not be hampered as “we have a full officer complement in Lebanon. We have three foreign service officers there.”
He said work at the embassy would no stop with the resignation of Bichara. “We have a professional foreign service corps.”
A report from the Philippine News Agency earlier quoted Conejos as saying Bichara resigned effective Dec. 15, 2006. He also said Charge D’Affaires Walter Salmingo will retire on Jan. 31, 2007.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has reportedly instructed General Roy Cimatu of Task Force Lebanon to leave for Beirut, assess the situation in that war-torn country, and update him on plans for the OFWs still there.
Conejos added that the current charge d’affaires in Lebanon is Consul Marlo Miranda.
In an interview, Conejos stressed that the plan for OFWs in Beirut and northern Lebanon need to be updated because of the changing political landscape.
He reiterated that the conflict between the Hezbollah and Israel in July involved targeted strikes.
Conejos noted that there was a lull during the Christmas and Haj holidays but the situation could escalate and Philipppine officials would want to monitor the developments very closely and get first-hand information.
He stressed that sectarian violence could erupt as the Lebanese society is a complex society made up of Catholics, Sunnis, Shiites, Hebrews, and other Christian groups.
With the expected equilibrium of disarray in Lebanon, Conejos said that Philippine officials would like to be updated for specific threats that OFWs may be facing there, including civil disorders.
Meanwhile, Romulo has also instructed Cimatu to locate the OFWs in the war-torn country.
“We would like to be one step ahead of the goings-on there...We are still considering the possibility of holding OFWs in a specific holding area,” Conejos said.
About 6,000 OFWs have been repatriated and another 5,000 are left with their employers. The ban on job placement and deployment to Lebanon is still in effect.
Bichara was in the Philippines when the Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon started in July 2006 but this did not stop him from criticizing the government for its apparent being unprepared with regard to the OFWs in the country.
